Phantom of the Leaf
by blackbelt256
Summary: A rewrite of the test fic I wrote a couple days back, hope you enjoy this one more! (I know, the Seireigan is a combo of the Byakugan and the Sharingan, but those are basic abilities. Danny will unlock more as the story progresses) Pairings: NaruHina, Shikamari, Danko, SasuSaku (later) Rated M for violence, language, lemon. Danny may or may not be OP, haven't decided yet.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! The last version of this was a bit…crappy, so I decided to rewrite it! Enjoy!**

 **I only own the dojutsu. Everything else is the property of their respective creators.**

* * *

 **The Phantom of the Leaf (Rewrite)**

 **Chapter 1**

Danny knew something was wrong the second he woke up.

For one thing, he woke up in the Ghost Zone. Not to mention he was in Clockwork's tower. When those two things were put together, it usually meant that Danny wouldn't like what happened next. Clockwork floated into the room as Danny forced himself off the couch he had woken up on.

"Ah, Daniel, you're up. Good, because there is an important matter we must discuss. Walk…er, float with me," the time master said, before floating to his viewing room. Danny flew after him, even though he was still in human form. Ever since he started training with Clockwork, he could use a majority of his ghost powers as Fenton, the only exception being the Ghostly Wail. Clockwork warned him to never use it in his human form, or his throat could literally explode.

"What's wrong this time, Stopwatch?" asked Danny, using the nickname only he could use. Anyone else got dumped in a random time period. Regardless, a tick mark appeared on Clockwork's forehead at the nickname.

"Time as we know it is in danger, _again,_ " sighed Clockwork. Danny picked up where he left off. "And as usual, the Observants are doing a whole lot of nothing to help and they've forbidden you from interfering," said the halfa. Clockwork smiled. "It seems I'm rubbing off on you after all," he teased. Danny settled for a glare that had nothing behind it.

"So, you may be cryptic, but even you have to give me the basics of what I'm doing," he said. "So, what's going on?"

Clockwork suddenly became nervous, wringing his time staff between his hands and fidgeting. Danny inwardly cringed; Clockwork never got nervous. "What is it, Clockwork?" he repeated. Clockwork released a drawn-out sigh.

"There is a problem in one of the other timelines. Are you familiar with the Shinobi Nations timeline?" he asked. Danny nodded; he had never been there, but he had heard about it. Clockwork had several friends there that were ninja who were killed in battle. "What about it?" Danny asked. "A man by the name of Obito Uchiha is threatening to enslave the world in a never-ending illusion," the time master explained. "And you want me to take care of it?" Danny guessed, and Clockwork nodded. "Doesn't sound so bad," the halfa said, rubbing his chin in thought. Clockwork tried to sigh inaudibly, but it was not to be. "What's the catch?" asked the young ghost warily.

Clockwork checked the surrounding area, as if he were making sure they were alone. "I am taking a great risk by showing you this, Daniel," he said seriously, as he summoned one of his viewing screens. Before activating it, he turned back to the young halfa. "I must have your word that what you see here, stays here." Danny gulped and nodded, and the time master activated the screen. It showed a burning Amity Park. There were bodies everywhere, including Sam and Tucker. His family was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, Danny shot in from off screen and slammed into the ground, leaving a deep crater. Not two seconds later, Fright Knight dropped on top of him from above, running him through with a sword made of ectoranium.

Danny's jaw dropped. "That will happen a week from now," said Clockwork softly. Danny felt tears in his eyes. "Are you sure there's nothing you can do?" he pleaded, and the time ghost closed his crimson eyes and shook his head sadly. "What…what about my family and friends?" Danny choked out, becoming overwhelmed with emotion. "I will modify everyone's memories, so it would seem as if you never existed," Clockwork whispered. That was the straw that broke the camel's back, as Danny completely broke down on the floor of the viewing room. Clockwork floated down and wrapped an arm around the boy he had come to view as a son, trying to calm him down.

It took an entire hour to calm the young halfa down enough to form coherent sentences. Well, one hour, twenty-seven minutes and eleven and a half seconds, but Clockwork wasn't counting.

"Daniel, I'm so sorry, but there's no other option. If there was, we would not be having this conversation," he said, trying to soothe the boy. Danny looked up into the red eyes of his mentor, and nodded solemnly. Clockwork gently lifted the boy to his feet. "Can I at least say goodbye?" asked the halfa, rubbing his eyes like a small child. Clockwork gave a sad smile and nodded, opening a portal. Danny floated through it and it closed behind him.

Three hours later, Danny returned. Clockwork gave him a sly smile. He knew _exactly_ what happened. "So, did they take it well?" he asked, and Danny nodded, slightly less sad then before. Clockwork smirked. "And what about Miss Manson?" he teased, and the young halfa went very, very red. Clockwork chuckled at his protégé's reaction. "Come, child. If you're going to stop Obito, you must be ready," he said, leading a still red-faced young halfa to a previously unexplored area of the tower.

It was a training ground of some sort. It was modeled after a pine forest, with tall trees and lush, green bushes stretching for what seemed like miles. Clockwork floated to a clearing and his tail turned into a pair of legs, clad in purple pants and black boots. He landed and snapped his fingers. Danny felt his clothes change, and he looked down to see he was wearing black cargo pants of some sort, along with a chain-mail shirt and black open-toed shoes. He tried going ghost, but found he couldn't. He looked up at Clockwork quizzically, silently asking for an explanation. The time ghost gained a surprisingly sinister smile. "Ah ah ah, we can't make it too easy for you," he said evilly. Danny gulped. The only thing running through his mind was how much this was about to hurt.

Six hours later, Danny collapsed on the couch, utterly spent. 'Clockwork, you sadistic bastard,' he thought. He was in so much pain it wasn't even funny anymore. Muscles he didn't even know he had felt like they were slowly being flayed with an ectoranium scalpel. Clockwork had him practice a form of fighting he called "taijutsu" while wearing heavy weights. Next was accessing something called "chakra", which was used to perform "ninjutsu". By the end of the nightmare that was training, Danny's body refused to respond to his commands, and his brain ached with all the knowledge of the timeline he was going to save. He gave in to the darkness clouding the edge of his vision as he slipped into his waking dreams.

He was rudely awoken a few hours later by a time staff to the head. He yelped and jumped off the bed, trying to fly, but completely forgot about the events of yesterday and found himself crashing to the ground in an undignified heap. Clockwork stared down at him, a tick mark visible on his forehead. "You have no idea how difficult it is to wake you," he remarked, before tossing two black pouches to him. "Strap those to your thigh," said the time master. "They're your kunai knives and shuriken. Two of the most important tools a ninja can use." Danny nodded and strapped the pouches to his right thigh. Next, Clockwork tossed him a red vest. Danny caught it and put it on, raising an eyebrow at the time ghost. Clockwork gained a sadistic smile and snapped his fingers. The vest suddenly became so heavy, Danny was struggling to stay standing. Eventually, the weight became too much for his sore legs, and he fell to the ground with a yelp.

"You will wear those weights whenever you aren't training with me," said Clockwork, helping the halfa to his feet. Danny sighed but nodded. Clockwork smiled and they walked to the library to start his jutsu theory and Japanese lessons.

* * *

 **##TIMESKIP: THE EQUIVALENT OF FIFTEEN YEARS LATER##**

Danny loved time control.

Clockwork had just informed him that, though it felt like he was training and studying for years on end, barely a second had passed in reality. Danny had now mastered every elemental jutsu thanks to his neutral core, and his sheer speed was a force to be reckoned with. He also possessed an impressive arsenal of genjutsu, which he used to great effect to slowly wear down his opponent's sanity. Clockwork used his time powers to keep Danny's age and appearance the same as when he started training, although he kept the muscle mass he had gained as a result of the nonstop training, per Danny's request. Danny had lost whatever excess body fat remained on his thin frame, and it was soon replaced with rippling muscle. He essentially had a body that would make most men jealous.

As Danny prepared to leave, Clockwork stopped him. "I'll come to visit you when I can, but I would like to give you a gift before you go," he said. "What would you like?" Danny thought about it, but his decision was quick in coming. He remembered a lecture from Clockwork on the dojutsu, such as the Sharingan and Byakugan.

"I want a dojutsu of my own," he said. Clockwork smiled. "An excellent choice, now let's get started."

They spent the better part of an hour going over the appearance and effects of the visual jutsu. Finally, Danny was satisfied, and Clockwork snapped his fingers. Immediately, Danny's eyes started itching like crazy, and it took all his willpower to not gouge his eyes out. As suddenly as the itching started, it stopped. Danny opened his eyes and looked around; everything seemed the same. "Send chakra to your eyes," suggested Clockwork. Danny did so, and immediately his vision became sharper, and he soon found that he could see in a complete circle, as well as above and below him. He walked over to a mirror and saw that his eyes had completely changed.

His formerly blue eyes were now neon green, but they didn't glow like his ghost forms'. He also had five black tomoe surrounding each pupil, connected by a thin black ring.

"Impressive, Daniel," said Clockwork. "What will you call it?" Danny immediately knew the answer. " _Seireigan (Spirit's Divine Eye),"_ he said, deactivating the dojutsu. Clockwork smiled. "An excellent choice. Now, it's time to go. I will visit when I can, to see how you're doing. Good luck, son." He quickly shut his mouth, reddening slightly at the slip. Danny, however, gaped like a fish before wrapping the time master in a hug. "Relax, Clockwork. You've been like a second father to me ever since we met, so you can call me son if you want to…Dad," he said, smiling, a gesture that Clockwork returned tenfold as he wrapped his protégé in a hug. He then created a portal to the Shinobi Nations timeline and handed Danny a map, with instructions to go to Konohagakure no Sato (The Village Hidden in the Leaves) and to see the Hokage. He was also to be known as Kagemaru, of the Phantom clan of the Land of Spirits, which didn't even exist until five seconds previously.

Clockwork watched as his surrogate son disappeared into the portal. He released a sigh and prayed that Danny would succeed. Suddenly, he realized something too late: he had forgotten to restore Danny's ghost powers.

Oops.

* * *

 **##MEANWHILE, WITH DANNY##**

Danny appeared in the middle of a deserted road. He consulted his map and started walking in the direction of the Hidden Leaf Village. Suddenly, a piece of paper appeared in his hand.

 _Daniel,_

 _It has come to my attention that I have forgotten to restore your ghost powers after you finished your training with me. I'm sorry about that._

 _However, the jutsu I used to suppress your powers is only temporary. You will gradually regain use of each of your powers over a period of time. You will know when a power becomes available to use._

 _Stay safe, son._

 _CW_

Danny gaped at the note. How can Clockwork just _forget_ to restore his powers? He's supposed to be all-knowing, right? Danny shook his head in annoyance and continued on his trek.

Fifteen minutes later, he heard the sound of fighting. He jogged towards the sound. Rounding a corner, he saw two men in animal masks fighting a horde of bandits. 'ANBU,' he thought, watching the fight. It was clear that the ANBU were good, but the bandits had the advantage of sheer numbers. When one of the ANBU was knocked to the ground, he decided to act.

He rushed at the bandit with insane speed and delivered a devastating drop-kick to his spine, hearing a satisfying snap on impact. He took up a defensive stance as the ANBU picked herself up (he assumed it was a woman because of her slender figure). "Thanks, kid," she said, her voice muffled by her mask. "Not a problem," replied Danny. "Need a hand?" He and the ANBU looked at the remaining thirty bandits. "We…could use a bit of assistance," she said sheepishly, drawing a wicked-looking katana. Danny nodded, then disappeared in a cloud of dust.

Yugao watched in awe as the teenager cut down every single bandit. 'He's faster than Gai,' she thought. 'I have to bring him to the Hokage.' She and her partner looked at each other, having a silent conversation. Either the kid comes quietly, or they knock him out and drag him there. She sighed and sheathed her katana as the kid, no older than fourteen, brushed the dust off his clothes. He looked up as she approached.

"Say, kid, who exactly are you?" she asked, wary. Years of missions and assassinations tends to do that to a person. Not to mention the boy's blue eyes seemed to stare directly into your soul.

"I'm Kagemaru. I'm from the Land of Spirits," he explained. "Would you mind coming with us? We have a feeling the Hokage would like to see you," her partner said in an even tone. "I was actually looking for the Hidden Leaf Village anyway, so sure," said Kagemaru. 'That was almost too easy,' she thought. "Why are you looking for the Hidden Leaf?" she asked, careful to watch her tone. She didn't want the kid to think she was accusing him of something.

The kid looked down at the ground. "My…my village was destroyed in a bandit attack," he said. "My entire village was killed. I managed to survive because I was out hunting at the time. I'm the only one left." 'Yikes. That must hurt. I understand losing your parents, but your entire village?' the ANBU thought with a barely perceptible shudder. Her partner picked up for her. "Alright kid, follow us. We'll take you to the Hokage," he said, before chakra-walking up the nearest tree and tree-hopping back to the village. Yugao and Kagemaru followed suit.

Danny enjoyed the feeling of flying through the air as he leapt from one tree branch to another, staying a respectful distance away from the ANBU. He really didn't want to tangle with them, especially since he had no idea what their individual abilities were.

Suddenly, he was hit with a blast of pain in his head. He involuntarily gasped, alerting the female ANBU. "You okay, kid?" she asked, a small hint of concern lacing her voice. "Y-yeah, just…just headaches. I've been having them on and off since…" he trailed off, but he didn't need to finish. The ANBU knew what he was talking about.

Suddenly, he heard Clockwork's voice in his head. 'Ah, Daniel. You can now use one of your powers,' he said. 'And before you do something you'll regret, just think what you want to say and I'll hear it.'

'So which power did I get back?' Danny asked. 'Intangibility,' came the reply. 'Good, that could be useful if I get ambushed or something,' Danny thought. 'Indeed. I'll contact you every time a power reawakens,' said Clockwork, and Danny felt him leave his mind. He tested his intangibility on the hand that the ANBU couldn't see, and sure enough, it turned translucent, with that familiar tingly feeling. He released the intangibility before the ANBU became suspicious.

Ten minutes later, they arrived in front of a massive wooden gate. One of the ANBU performed a series of hand signs and the gate opened to a bustling village. As one, everyone looked over at the ANBU and the teenager they were escorting. At that moment, Danny wished he had gotten back his invisibility as well.

The ANBU led him through the village streets, the citizens staring openly. It was rare that the ANBU came out in public, and even rarer that they escorted someone who was not the Hokage. 'Just who is this kid, and why does he need an ANBU escort?' was the question on everyone's minds.

The ANBU eventually led him to a large circular building and they went inside. They climbed up three flights of stairs before they came to an ornate wooden door.

"Wait here," said the female ANBU, and she and her partner went inside, leaving Danny standing awkwardly in the hall. Five minutes later, the female ANBU poked her head out and motioned for him to come inside. He obliged, and was met with an older man with a white goatee, smoking a pipe. 'So, this is the Hokage,' the halfa thought. 'He's…not what I expected.'

"So, you're the young man who single-handedly took out those bandits?" the old man asked. "Yes, sir," Danny said with a slight bow. Elderly or not, he was still going to show the Hokage the respect his position demanded. The Hokage smiled and inclined his head. "You have done our village a favor. Those bandits were making it increasingly difficult to send out ninja on missions," he said. "You have our gratitude." Danny bowed again. "I just did what anyone else should do; I helped out when someone was in trouble," he said, choosing his words carefully so he didn't upset the ANBU.

The Hokage smiled again. "That's the type of attitude another of my ANBU has. 'Those who fail to follow orders are lower than garbage, but those who abandon their comrades are even lower' is his motto. Anyway, my ANBU have informed me that you come from the Land of Spirits, is that correct?" Danny nodded. "Forgive me, but I have no record of such a country even existing," the Hokage continued, raising one white eyebrow. Danny immediately put on his practiced "regret face". "That's because it doesn't. Not anymore, anyway…" he trailed off for effect. The Hokage's expression immediately softened. "Ah, my apologies. I didn't mean to bring up a sore subject," he said. Danny gave a "sad" smile. "It's fine, you were curious. The Land of Spirits is…was, all but sealed off from the rest of the world. Intruders were usually dealt with harshly if they weren't on official business," Danny explained.

"I see," said the Hokage, lacing his fingers together in front of him, hiding his mouth from view. "I also have a report that you possess significant speed. Have you had any ninja training?" he asked. Danny nodded. "An extensive amount, sir. I've mastered all elemental jutsu, and have an arsenal of genjutsu as well. I also possess a dojutsu," he finished, and the Hokage's eyes widened. "Would you mind giving a demonstration?" he asked. Danny nodded and sent chakra to his eyes, activating his Seireigan. The Hokage's mouth dropped open. "Amazing," he whispered, then turned to the male ANBU. "Bring me Kakashi Hatake and Hiashi Hyuuga, immediately," he ordered, and the ANBU exploded into smoke. He came back with a silver haired young man with a leaf headband covering his left eye, and a middle-aged man with pale, lavender eyes and a hard expression. He was wearing an expensive-looking kimono.

"You summoned us, Hokage-sama?" asked the silver haired one. "Indeed, Kakashi. This young man," he indicated Danny, "possesses an unfamiliar dojutsu. I would like to ask him some questions, and we would like the assistance of your Sharingan to gauge his truthfulness." Kakashi nodded, and the Hokage turned to Hiashi. "Would you please use your Byakugan to gauge his chakra levels? He must have a considerable amount to be able to use such a dojutsu, and he also claims to have mastered all elemental jutsu," he said. The two men's eyes went wide. Kakashi pulled up his headband to expose his blood-red Sharingan eye, while the veins around Hiashi's eyes stood out prominently against the sharp lines of his face.

Immediately, Hiashi staggered back, his pale eyes wide in shock. "What happened?!" barked the Hokage. "It's…it's impossible…" stammered Hiashi, still staring at Danny with shock. "No one…no one has…" He finally managed to compose himself. "Hokage-sama, that boy…the sheer size of his chakra reserves rivals that of two Bijuu at least," he said, and everyone present except Danny gasped.

"That's impossible!" cried one of the ANBU. The Hokage turned to Danny with a serious expression. "I don't know how you have so much chakra, but that's not what's important right now. What's important is your intentions. Why are you here?" he asked, his face deadly serious. Danny looked Kakashi in the eye, making direct contact with the Sharingan. "I want a chance to rebuild my life. It was, quite literally, burned to the ground in front of me. I want a chance to start over, to help out where I'm needed," he said, and it was the truth. He could never go back to Amity Park.

Kakashi stared at him, and everyone else waited for his verdict. Reaching up, he pulled the left side of his headband down to cover the Sharingan. "He speaks the truth," he said, and everyone visibly relaxed. The Hokage rummaged around under his desk before coming up with a black Leaf headband and a black flak jacket.

"As is my right as Hokage, I grant you asylum in Konoha and hereby give you the rank of Jounin. However, you will remain under watch for two weeks, as is the custom here. Congratulations," he said with a smile. Danny smiled back, bowed, and accepted the headband and jacket, putting them on. "An apartment will be provided for you, and you may start your missions when the probation period has ended," said the Hokage. Danny bowed again. "Thank you, Hokage-sama," he said, putting every ounce of respect he could into the short phrase. The Hokage smiled and inclined his head. "Dismissed."

Kakashi walked up to Danny as they exited the Hokage's office. "Nice to meet you, I'm Kakashi Hatake," he said, giving a warm eye-smile. "Kagemaru Phantom," Danny replied as he shook Kakashi's outstretched hand. "I'll show you around the village, then I'll take you to your apartment," said the Sharingan user. Danny nodded, and the two Jounin set off on their tour, with two ANBU agents discreetly tailing them.

Their first stop was the Hokage Monument. "This is where the past and present Hokage are all immortalized, in a sense," explained Kakashi. "The one on the far left is Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage. Next to him, his brother, Tobirama. Then there's the current Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. He took over when the Fourth, Minato Namikaze, died while fighting the Kyuubi." He cast a melancholy glance at the stone face of the Fourth Hokage. "Namikaze-sama was my sensei when I graduated the Ninja Academy," he said sadly. Danny put a reassuring hand on Kakashi's shoulder; he knew how bad it must have felt when his teacher died.

From the monument, they moved to the Ninja Academy. According to Kakashi, it was where kids who wanted to be ninja went to train before they became Genin. Kakashi took him on a tour of the facilities, ending in the courtyard, where a crowd of people surrounded two boys, who were in the midst of an all-out brawl.

Kakashi sighed. "Not again…" he muttered. Danny raised an eyebrow. "Does this happen often?" he asked. Kakashi rolled his eye. "Unfortunately. And it's ALWAYS those two." Kakashi indicated the boys in the center of the circle. One had bright blond hair while the other's was pitch-black. The two Jounin decided to let the students wear each other out before stepping in, but when the dark-haired boy pulled a kunai out of his pocket, Kakashi knew they had to intervene.

Before Kakashi could even react, Danny had run directly in between the two boys at an unimaginable speed, grabbing their wrists and tossing them to the ground. The black-haired kid jumped up and made a series of signs, as did Danny.

" _Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu!"_ cried the black-haired kid. _"Suiton: Suijinheki!"_ yelled Danny, taking a defensive position in front of the blond kid. A massive fireball erupted from the black-haired kid's mouth at the same time a monumental amount of water spewed from Danny's, canceling out the jutsu. The black haired kid could only watch as the wall of water rushed towards him, slamming him into the wall of the academy. Instantly, the instructor was outside, looking for the cause of the commotion. "WHAT'S GOING ON OUT HERE?!" he roared, using the Angry Teacher Jutsu to make his head swell to comic proportions. The blond boy cowered behind Danny at the sight of the instructor's massive head.

"Well, from my point of view, it seems that these two were roughhousing, when the black-haired one pulled a kunai and launched a Gokakyuu fireball at this one." Danny jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the blond. The teacher's head returned to normal. "And you are…?" he asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "Kagemaru Phantom, from the Land of Spirits. Also, new Leaf Jounin," said Danny smoothly. The instructor's eyes widened, and he looked at Kakashi for verification. The copy nin nodded slightly, and the instructor visibly relaxed.

"Sorry about that. I'm Iruka Umino, the Academy instructor," he said, extending a hand, which Danny shook. The instructor turned to the two boys. "Naruto, Sasuke, how many times do I have to tell you," He took a deep breath and activated his Angry Teacher Jutsu. "NO FIGHTING OUTSIDE OF TAIJUTSU CLASSES!" he roared, causing trees to bend with the force of his yelling. If the kids were scared of him before, now they were downright traumatized.

Iruka calmed down. "Naruto," he said, indicating the blond, "you have detention tonight after class. Sasuke, you have detention for the rest of the week." Instantly, the black haired kid, Sasuke, went into an uproar. "WHAT?! WHY?!" he shouted, horrified. Iruka glared at him. "Because, you used a particularly destructive jutsu while you two were fighting. Imagine if Kagemaru-san hadn't intervened. You could've killed Naruto!" he yelled. Sasuke hung his head. "Inside. NOW," Iruka growled. Everyone except the two Jounin scrambled to obey their sensei.

The next stop on the tour were the hot springs. There, they were treated to the amusing scene of a white-haired old pervert getting an intimate encounter with righteous female fury for peeking on the women's bath. From there they went to the training grounds. When they arrived, Kakashi turned and faced Danny, raising his headband to uncover his Sharingan. "I've heard a lot about your abilities, but I have yet to see them for myself. Care for a spar?" he asked. Danny smiled and activated his Seireigan as an answer.

They jumped apart, landing fifteen feet away from each other. Kakashi began forming hand signs, and Danny copied them instantly, much to Kakashi's surprise. He had severely underestimated the Seireigan. Regardless, he forced himself to go through the signs faster.

" _ **Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu!"**_

A massive fireball erupted from each of their mouths and collided with an explosion.

Kakashi looked shocked that someone so young had not only copied his jutsu with relative ease, he had enough chakra to fully cancel out his own fireball. He narrowed his one normal eye. This wasn't gonna be as easy as he thought.

Deciding to take a different approach, he tossed some kunai as a distraction while he cut his finger. Danny dodged the kunai easily, but it was enough to buy Kakashi time.

" _Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"_

A gigantic Mastiff appeared in a cloud of smoke and charged. Danny locked eyes with the massive animal and it immediately stopped, tucking its stub of a tail in fear (Dogs tend to have negative reactions to spirits). Kakashi was floored. He just made Bull, the strongest of his ninken, whimper like a puppy.

"My turn," Danny said with a grin. Suddenly, he disappeared and reappeared underneath Kakashi's guard, kicking him in the gut and sending him flying.

Kakashi staggered to his feet. He quickly made hand signs behind his back. "You're fast," he admitted. Suddenly, his hand was covered in lightning. "But let's see if you can dodge this," he finished with a smile before he charged. As Kakashi was nearing him, Danny went intangible. Kakashi's eyes widened as he fell through the boy, his Chidori punching a hole in a nearby tree.

Kakashi and Danny stood in the exact spot they started from, panting. Kakashi recovered first. "Where…where did you learn that?" he gasped. "Far away and from a good teacher," said Danny, sweat pouring off his body. Kakashi seemed to accept this; shinobi were entitled to some secrets after all.

It was then they noticed their audience. The explosion drew out several ninja and civilians alike, and all were standing slack-jawed at the display. Simultaneously, Kakashi and Danny rubbed the backs of their necks sheepishly, before shunshining away.

They reappeared in front of the Hokage's mansion. As they started walking, Danny felt another of his powers reawaken. 'Which one did I get this time, Clockwork?' he asked, rubbing his head in annoyance. 'Looks like teleportation,' said the time master. Danny grinned, remembering Clockwork's lesson on the Leaf Village and how the Yondaime Hokage became famous with his space-time jutsu.

This was gonna be fun…


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey there! Here's another chapter for you guys!**

 **Disclaimer: I own absolutely everything (just kidding)**

 **Danny is 21, Naruto and co. are 12, Anko is 20, Kakashi and Gai are 32.**

 **Chapter 2**

Danny wandered aimlessly around the Leaf village one morning, admiring the sights. Ever since he came to the village, he had always been an early bird. Part of it was due to his ninja training, but it was mostly because he had to leave his old life behind.

He sensed a presence behind him, following him around. He discreetly activated his Seireigan, using his 360 degree vision to pinpoint who was following him. He was pleasantly surprised to find that it was one of the Tokubetsu Jounin of the village, the purple-haired kunoichi who worked in the Torture and Interrogation Department. She was cute, Danny thought, from what little he had seen of her. So, he decided the direct approach was best. The only problem was how to go about doing that.

His question was answered in the form of a blast of pain in his head. 'Looks like you can turn invisible again,' said Clockwork's mental voice.

Danny blinked once. Then twice. Then a third time. 'Well, that's awfully convenient,' he thought, but he chose not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Slipping into an alleyway, he went invisible and intangible just as the purple haired kunoichi came around the corner and walked right through him, looking around in confusion. Once she had her back to him, Danny became tangible and visible once more and cleared his throat loudly. The kunoichi whirled around and launched a kunai out of the sleeve of her trench coat, which Danny plucked nonchalantly out of the air and twirled on his finger by the ring. "Now that you're through trying to kill me, feel like telling me why you're following me?" he asked. The kunoichi's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"I was ordered to by the Hokage. He wants me to keep an eye on you until your probation period is up," she said, before realizing she hadn't actually told him her name. "I'm Anko Mitarashi, by the way." Danny smiled. "Kagemaru Phantom. Nice to meet you, Anko-san. What do you say you actually hang out with me today, instead of following me around like a stalker?" he asked.

-Linebreak-

Elsewhere, a young Hyuuga girl sneezed.

-Linebreak-

Anko smiled and nodded before her stomach rumbled loudly. She blushed slightly as Danny chuckled, before his own stomach betrayed him. He grinned sheepishly. "Why don't we grab some lunch? My treat," he offered, and she accepted with a grin. "I know the best dango shop in the Fire Country!" she exclaimed happily, grabbing Danny's arm and dragging him down the street. "Dango? Never heard of it," Danny said.

Anko stopped dead in her tracks.

After remaining motionless for a few seconds, she slowly looked over her left shoulder, a sinister gleam in her eye. "You…have never…had…dango…?" she repeated slowly. Fearing for his safety, Danny only nodded. Anko regarded him for a few seconds before taking a deep breath.

"UNACCEPTABLE!" she screamed, before launching into a rant about the food of the gods that was dango on a stick that had so much passion that it made a certain green-jumpsuit-clad Jounin weep anime tears of joy. At the end of her rant, she picked Danny up bodily and slung him over her shoulder before taking to the rooftops and leaping in the direction of the dango stand.

Upon reaching said stand, she plopped the semi-conscious halfa on a stool and ordered three plates of the stuff, one for him and two for her. Danny regarded the dumplings before taking a bite out of one. He chewed it a bit, getting the flavor, before he smiled, nodded, and swallowed. "Wow, that's really good!" he said. "Not an everyday thing for me, but I'll definitely come here more often!" Anko smiled as she inhaled her dumplings.

After Danny paid for their meal, the duo were once again left with nothing to do. Suddenly, an ANBU appeared. "Hokage-sama requests your presence, both of you," he said before shunshining away. Danny and Anko looked at each other briefly before they shunshined directly into the Hokage's office.

Sarutobi looked up from his paperwork (thrice-damned, no good, awful thing that it is) when Danny and Anko materialized in his office.

"Ah, Kagemaru-san, Anko-chan, glad you could make it," he said. "I'm sure you'll be relieved to know that neither of you are in trouble, and neither is the village." He sweatdropped when the two Jounin visibly relaxed. "Anyway, you may not know, but the Genin Graduation Exam will be held tomorrow. The reason I called you in here was to inform you that as of this moment, you two will be the co-leaders of a squad of Genin," he said. Danny and Anko frowned but nodded. "Oh, don't give me that look. The council offered to reduce your probationary periods if you produce visible results in a three-day period," Sarutobi said. Danny nodded, then turned to Anko. "Wait, what did YOU do to get on probation?" he asked incredulously. Anko just smiled sheepishly. Sarutobi groaned.

"A better question to ask would be what has she NOT done," said the old man. He pulled open a nearby cupboard and Danny saw stacks upon stacks of complaint forms. "This is all courtesy of one Anko Mitarashi. Breaking and entering, assault, assault, attempted sterilization via Eastern Diamondback, attempted constriction, you name it. It's as if she makes it her life's goal to piss me off," Sarutobi growled, a tick mark visible on his forehead. Anko gave him an innocent smile. "Why don't you just make a Kage Bunshin and have it do all the paperwork?" Danny asked.

Sarutobi just sat there, stunned. This boy had single-handedly found a brain-dead simple solution to the Kage's Bane. He sighed, then bit his finger, drawing blood, and flashed through hand signs.

" **Kuchiyose no Jutsu! Monkey King Enma!"**

A large, elderly primate materialized in a poof of smoke. "Enma, Indestructible Adamantine Staff form, please," said Sarutobi. The monkey nodded and transformed into a long staff that was black with gold on the ends.

He promptly handed the staff to Anko, then closed his eyes. "Please hit me as hard as you possibly can," he said. Anko looked at Danny, who shrugged. She mimicked the gesture.

 _ **CLANG!**_

Using a basic medical ninjutsu to revive Sarutobi, Danny helped the old man right his chair and sit back into it. A large lump was now forming on his head.

"Thank you. Anyway, you are to report to the Academy in three days' time, where you will be assigned a Genin squad to lead. Any questions? If not, you are dismissed," said the old man, massaging his head. Anko and Danny nodded and left via shunshin.

Once again, the two Jounin had nothing to do. "I'm sooo BORED!" complained Anko. Danny suppressed a laugh at her antics; he was slowly liking this chick more and more. "I don't know about you, but I'm gonna go soak in the hot springs," Danny said before walking in that direction. Anko followed him, partially because she wanted a soak as well, but mostly because she was a closet pervert, not that she'd admit that.

When the duo got to the hot springs, Danny went into the male side, stripped, and sank into the warm water. The male side was deserted, so he could relax in relative peace. He leaned back and closed his eyes, enjoying the rejuvenating qualities of the hot water.

-Meanwhile-

Anko waited until Kagemaru was out of sight before she acted. She ran around to the back where no one could see her and chakra-walked up a nearby tree that had a branch conveniently sticking out over the water on the male side. She saw Kagemaru already in the water, leaning against the side of the spring. 'Dammit!' she thought angrily. 'Now I'll have to sit here until he gets out!' She performed a jutsu that bent the light waves around her, making her invisible. Then she sat on the branch, leaned against the trunk of the tree, and waited.

-With Danny-

Danny felt like he was being watched. Over the course of his training with Clockwork, he learned to use his instincts as his guide. Opening his eyes just barely, he activated his Seireigan and searched for any nearby chakra signatures. He was surprised when he detected Anko in a tree above him. Danny smirked and created an invisible shadow clone, making sure to hide the hand sign underwater. The clone chakra-walked up the tree and hung upside down on the branch Anko was sitting on.

At Danny's mental command, the clone flipped up in front of Anko and became visible with a loud "Boo!"

The result was Anko screaming, launching several kunai, slipping off the branch, and falling into the water next to Danny. The clone was dispelled when Anko launched the kunai, and Danny laughed when Anko came up spluttering. "Who would've thought that you'd be a closet pervert?" he said with a smile. Anko's face got red and she turned away, grumbling something about sticking a kunai in an unsavory place. Danny chuckled. "Usually if someone has the goal of seeing someone naked, they ask them on a date first," he said cheekily, being serious but pretending not to be. Anko raised an eyebrow. "Are you…asking me out?" she asked uncertainly. Danny smiled and said "Maybe."

Anko regarded him for a few moments, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was naked as the day he was born. Finally, a small smile worked its way onto her face. "Tonight, eight o' clock. In front of the dango stand. Don't be late," she said, and shunshined away.

After another fifteen minutes, Danny got out, dried off, and got dressed. He then shunshined to his apartment to change. As he left, Clockwork alerted him that he could once again go ghost, albeit without most of his powers. He smiled, glad that his life was finally looking up.

-Later That Night-

Danny stood in front of the dango stand, waiting for Anko to arrive. He looked at the clock on the wall of the shop and sighed, impatient.

"Waiting for someone?"

Danny turned at the sound of the familiar voice and was stunned by what he saw. Anko was leaning against the wall next to him, wearing a purple kimono that showed a bit of cleavage. She had put the bare minimum of makeup on, since she hated the stuff but wanted to look good. Her hair was out of its usual ponytail and hung down past her shoulders, with her bangs framing her face.

Danny's brain frantically tried to correct the system overload as Anko gave him a sly smile before grabbing his arm. "And here I thought I was the closet pervert," she said, making Danny redden slightly. "Y-you look great, Anko-san," he stammered, making Anko blush a bit as well. "T-thanks, you don't look half bad yourself," she said, while her mind was screaming "IF HE SO MUCH AS WINKS AT ME I WILL FUCK HIM SENSELESS RIGHT FUCKING HERE!"

Danny had on a silver button-up shirt with black pants, with a silver chain. He wore the shirt with the top two buttons undone, showing off just a hint of his chiseled chest. Anko tried her hardest to keep a level head, but perverted thoughts kept popping up, so she settled for looking away with a slight blush.

"So, where to?" she asked, and Danny smiled. "Hang on," he warned, before putting an arm around her shoulders and shunshining them both to the top of the Hokage monument.

Anko gasped at the sight of the sunset bathing the village in hues of red, orange, and yellow. "Wow, I never thought the village could look this beautiful," she whispered. Danny walked up next to her, staring out over the peaceful village. "I come up here sometimes hen I'm stressed. It helps me relax," he said, causing Anko to look at him funny. "What the hell would you be stressed about?" she asked incredulously. Danny looked away slightly. "Being accepted," he said simply. Anko raised an eyebrow and summoned a snake from the tattoo on her back. "You're not the only one," she said, as Danny's eyes widened. "So, why do you think the village won't accept you?" she asked. Danny looked around warily before leaning close to her. "This is something even the Hokage doesn't know. You have to swear to me right here that what you see won't be shared with anyone unless I say so," he said, deadly serious. She nodded slowly.

With a sigh, Danny stood up and went ghost.

-Anko POV-

Kagemaru stood up with a sigh. Anko raised an eyebrow, when suddenly a white ring of light appeared around Kagemaru's waist, then divided into two, one going up, the other down. Anko watched with a dropped jaw as Kagemaru's raven-black hair turned snow-white, and his eyes turned from blue to neon green, and glowed slightly. A whitish aura surrounded him as he looked at her.

"W-what the hell?" she stammered, thoroughly confused. Kagemaru smiled. "This is my power," he said. "Similar to a kekkei genkai, but not the same. I got this when I ran afoul of one of my parents' experiments. They were looking into resurrecting the dead," he said, and Anko's eyes widened. He must have caught this, because he frantically waved his hands. "Not like that! They hated the Edo Tensei almost as much as you do. They were trying to summon spirits rather than physical bodies," he explained, and Anko calmed down slightly. "Anyway, something went wrong. All I remember is a flash of green light, and I woke up on the ground looking like this." He gestured to the hair and eyes before the ring of light reappeared and restored him to his previous appearance. "I have powers that go along with the other form, but they're…sealed, I guess you could say," he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He'd been doing that a lot lately, Anko noticed. "Kagemaru, come here for a minute," she said. Kagemaru walked over and she motioned for him to turn around. He did so and she stood up to inspect the back of his neck. Sure enough, there was a kanji for 'seal' on the back of his neck, just below his hairline.

"I figured as much. There's a seal on the back of your neck, I'm almost certain that's what's keeping your powers locked up. As much as I hate to say it, we need to find Jiraiya. He's one of the legendary Sannin, and even though he's a world-class pervert, he's arguably the best seals master outside Uzushiogakure. He should be able to help, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I know exactly where he is," she said, cracking her knuckles at the last part. Danny sweatdropped, and Anko grabbed his arm and shunshined them to the hot springs.

-Danny POV-

Upon arrival, they were greeted by a familiar white-haired pervert.

"Hey, you're that guy that got the seven shades of shit beat out of him for peeking!" cried Danny loudly. "WHAT?!" screeched someone inside the springs, and soon enough, twenty angry, towel-clad women charged out of the bath, beating the pervert to a bloody pulp. The man groaned and looked up from the crater in the ground, locking eyes with Anko. "Aw, what the hell is it now, Anko? I'm busy doing important research! If you want another one of my books you have to buy it like everyone else!" he complained. Anko silenced him with a kick to the nuts.

"Shut up, you old fart. We're here because this guy," she jabbed a thumb over her shoulder at Danny, who waved. "…has a seal that needs releasing," she finished.

Jiraiya sprang up immediately, every trace of his previous injuries gone. "All right, let's see it," he said, taking out a pair of reading glasses.

Danny walked up to him and bared the seal on his neck. Jiraiya studied it for a minute, then made a few hand signs. "Kai!" he cried, and placed his palm on the mark. Danny felt his neck itch uncontrollably, then it subsided. Suddenly, it felt like he got hit with a battleship as all of his powers returned at once. Grabbing his head, he waited for the spots to leave his vision before he straightened. "Thanks. Judging by Anko-chan's reaction, you must be the Sannin Jiraiya, am I right?" he asked. Jiraiya puffed up proudly, glad that his reputation precedes him. "That's right! And you are…?" he asked. "Kagemaru Phantom," Danny said, and Jiraiya burst out laughing. "OH MY KAMI! HAHAHAHA, IT WAS YOU ANKO WAS PEEKING AT?!" he roared in laughter. Anko went bright red as the Toad Sage rolled around on the ground, clutching his sides. Finally, the Sannin managed to get himself under control, just in time to see Anko raise a silver whistle to her lips, and his eyes went wide in fear. Anko took a deep breath and blew the whistle as hard as she could.

Within seconds, Jiraiya was running away from a horde of angry women, intent on ripping the man apart, starting with his important bits. Danny and Anko burst out laughing before Anko regained her composure, followed closely by Danny, though both were still giggling. Finally, Anko came to her senses with a sigh. "So, are your powers back?" she asked, still skeptical of the whole thing. She was a "believe-it-when-I-see-it" kind of person. Danny stood and transformed, before he tested each of his powers, minus the ghostly wail. Finally, he turned to Anko with a sweet smile that she knew all too well, having used it many times herself.

Suddenly, she was scooped up by Danny, who was carrying her bridal-style. "What are you doing?" she asked nervously. Danny smiled, genuinely this time. "I figured you would want to take the scenic route home," he said, before slowly lifting off. Anko's eyes bugged out of her head as they flew over the village. Danny smiled at her reaction and adjusted his grip so she wouldn't fall. They made it to Anko's apartment in a few minutes.

Danny touched down gently on the deserted street and gently let Anko down. She stood shakily until she got her legs under her. 'Now comes the not-so-fun part, where he tries to get in bed with me,' she thought. Contrary to popular opinion, she was, in fact, still a virgin.

"Alright, so I'll see you in a few days when we pick up our team?" Wait, what?

Anko raised an eyebrow. "You're not trying to get in bed with me?" she asked. Danny's eyes widened. "NO! I'm not the kind of guy who tries to fuck on the first date," he said. "I prefer getting to know the girl I'm with before letting her make the decision on all that stuff." Anko nodded, satisfied. 'Maybe he really is different from the others,' she thought. She said good night and watched as he flew off. She smiled and went to shower and go to bed.

Danny landed in front of his apartment and transformed. Without bothering to open the door, he phased through the wall and flopped down on his bed.

"Well now, you're full of surprises, aren't you?"

Danny sat bolt upright at the familiar sounding voice. He turned and saw the Hokage leaning against the wall. Danny smiled sheepishly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" the Hokage asked. Danny looked down. "I was afraid people wouldn't accept me, and would try to hurt me. My own parents thought I was possessed and tried to beat the ghost out of me," he said softly.

Hiruzen's expression softened. "I understand. I'm sure you've seen our resident troublemaker, Naruto Uzumaki? He had the Kyuubi no Kitsune sealed in him by his own father, the Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze." Danny's eyes widened in surprise. "So I can understand where you're coming from," the Hokage continued. "I would recommend keeping your powers a secret from everyone except those you trust, like Anko-chan. I see you two are becoming quite close," he teased, making Danny go red and look away. The Hokage chuckled, then went back to being serious. "As you know, you and Anko-chan are the co-senseis of a squad of Genin. I'm going to place Naruto in your squad, along with those who might be a positive influence on him. I think he'd do well learning from you, provided Anko-chan doesn't kill him first," he said, not joking at all. Danny nodded.

"Very well. See you in a few days then," said Sarutobi, and he vanished in a shunshin.

Danny lay back on his bed as he tried to process everything he learned, before giving up and going to sleep.

-A Few Days Later-

(AN: I'm putting a timeskip here because everything that happens between now and the team assignment is canon)

Danny stood outside the classroom full of new Genin with the other Jounin-senseis. The Hokage introduced him to his son, Asuma, then Kakashi, Might Guy, and Kurenai Yuhi. They chatted for a bit before Anko showed up, winking at Danny, making him turn red. The rest of the Jounin watched the interaction with interest.

Finally, Iruka poked his head out of the door. "All right, you guys can come in now," he said. Asuma led the Jounin in single file to stand at the front of the classroom.

"All right, teams one through six are still in circulation, so we'll start with team seven. Sakura Haruno, Kiba Inuzuka, and Sasuke Uchiha, please follow Kakashi," Iruka announced. The three Genin got up and filed out after their sensei, with Sasuke shooting a glare at Danny. Danny returned it tenfold, activating his Seireigan, making Sasuke sweat and run out after his team. Danny deactivated his Seireigan, smiling to himself.

"Team Eight; Shino Aburame, Neji Hyuuga, and Ino Yamanaka, follow Kurenai." The three Genin followed Kurenai out the door.

Team Nine; Rock Lee, Shikamaru Nara, and Chouji Akimichi, follow Guy." The Genin did as they were told.

Team Ten; Sai, you will be training under Asuma until your teammates are released from the hospital. They made a joke about Guy, something like "how can an old man know anything about youth" and…it didn't end well. So, follow Asuma to the hospital and meet your teammates." The pale boy got up and followed Asuma, who winked at Danny and Anko before disappearing.

"Team Phantom; Naruto Uzumaki, Tenten, and Hinata Hyuuga, please follow Kagemaru and Anko." The three Genin nodded and Danny led them to the Forest of Death.

"All right, then. Introductions!" said Danny. He pointed at Hinata, who was closest. "You first," he said. "Name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, favorite jutsu."

(AN: I'm not a fan of fics where Hinata stutters, so she won't in this one)

"O-okay. I'm Hinata Hyuuga. I like training and…" She glanced at Naruto and blushed. "I dislike the way my clan is set up. My hobbies are training, going for walks, and pressing flowers. My favorite jutsu…I would have to say the Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation," she said softly.

Tenten went next. "I'm Tenten. I like weapons. I dislike people who underestimate women. My hobbies include training and working in my family's weapon shop. My favorite jutsu is probably the Shuriken Kage Bunshin," she said confidently. Danny nodded.

"Alright, pipsqueak, you're up," he said with a smirk as Anko, Tenten, and Hinata giggled. Naruto pouted, and they giggled even harder.

"Oh yeah, laugh it up. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage, dattebayo! I like training, ramen, and my precious people! I hate people who bully others for no reason! My hobbies are training and hanging out with my friends, and my favorite jutsu is the Kage Bunshin, dattebayo!" Danny stifled a chuckle at the verbal tick.

Anko went next. "I'm Anko Mitarashi! I like snakes, dango, and kunai. I dislike a certain snake Sannin. My hobbies are eating dango and working at the T&I department. My favorite jutsu is the Striking Shadow Snakes," she said, as a small viper poked its head out of her trench coat before lazily wrapping itself around her shoulders.

All eyes turned to Danny. "I'm Kagemaru Phantom. I like training, flying, and hanging out with my friends. I dislike people who judge others before they know the whole story." Naruto perked up at this. "My hobbies include flying, training, and working out. My favorite jutsu…" He paused. What WAS his favorite jutsu? He remembered his spar with Kakashi, and immediately knew his answer.

"My favorite jutsu is probably the Chidori," he said. The Genin cocked their heads to the side in confusion. Danny sighed and flashed through the hand signs he had copied with his Seireigan during the fight.

" _Chidori!_ "

His hand was immediately covered in lightning chakra. The Genins' eyes were as wide as plates as they looked at the visible chakra. "THAT'S SO COOL, DATTEBAYO! Can you teach me?" asked Naruto excitedly. Danny chuckled as he extinguished the Chidori. "Well, first, we'll have to see which element you have an affinity for," he said, pulling out three strips of chakra paper, handing one to each Genin.

"Channel some charka into the paper. How it reacts determines your elemental affinity," he explained. The Genin nodded and did as they were told.

Tenten's paper split in half before crumbling to dust, Hinata's split in half and became wet, and Naruto's split into four parts. One part burst into flame, one became wet, one crumbled to dust, and the last one crinkled.

They looked up at Danny, confused. "Tenten, you have a strong wind affinity with a minor earth affinity. It's unusual that people have two opposing elements," Danny said. "Hinata, you have an equal wind and water affinity. This could make you able to use the Ice element, but I don't know for sure." Hinata nodded, then Danny turned to Naruto. "Naruto, it looks like you have a natural affinity to all the elements. How, I have no idea, but you're going to become powerful, I can tell. All of you are," he said, and his team smiled before Tenten asked a question. "Kagemaru-sensei, what's yours and Anko's affinities?" she asked. Danny took a piece of chakra paper and handed one to Anko. They channeled their chakra, and Anko's split and crumbled to dust, while Danny's did the same thing as Naruto's, except the two pieces that weren't destroyed outright faded into smoke. Hinata noticed this.

"Kagemaru-sensei, what happened to the other pieces?" she asked. Danny smiled.

"That's my kekkei genkai, like your Byakugan. I'm not from Konoha originally, I came from the Land of Spirits. This allows me to use the Spirit Style techniques," he explained. In reality, he had vaporized the paper with his ectoplasm. The "Spirit Style" was a cover up for his powers until he trusted them enough to tell them.

"Anyway, let's get started. Your first mission…" Danny paused as his team immediately perked up. "…is to find us. Understand?" The Genins' jaws dropped. "Good. Now…GO!" Danny roared, and he and Anko disappeared.

The Genin sat there with their eyes wide and their jaws hanging open. Suddenly, everything caught up with them.

"Wait, WHAT?!"

-Meanwhile-

Danny and Anko sighed as they finished their dango. "So, how long do you think it'll take 'em?" asked the snake user. The halfa shrugged. "Depends. The Uzumaki kid's known for being unpredictable. The Hyuuga probably won't be too bad either. I don't know enough about Tenten to make an accurate assumption, though," he said. Anko nodded, then pounded the table.

"Yo! Waiter! Another round!"

-Back with the Genin-

Tenten, Naruto, and Hinata all searched high and low for the two Jounin. 'Where the hell are they?!' was the collective thought among the Genin. Suddenly, Tenten had a thought.

"Wait a minute…they only said to find them. They never said they would stay in the training ground!" she said, causing her teammates' eyes to widen. Naruto quickly made three Kage Bunshins.

"Hinata, Tenten, take one of my clones each. We'll split up and search the entire village. If you find them, do not engage them, just dispel the clone. The memories of one clone are shared with the rest, so we'll know you found them. Okay?" he said, and the two girls nodded. "Alright, let's go, dattebayo!" he cried, before they separated.

-With Danny and Anko-

Danny and Anko watched, amused, as their team separated to search the entire village. Danny was in his ghost form with Anko on his back, hovering over the spot their team separated. "They figured out the point pretty quick," said Danny. Anko nodded. "Yeah, especially Naruto. Who else would think to use Kage Bunshins in place of a radio?" she said. Danny flew after their unpredictable protégé as he made his way to the Hokage monument. Danny looked back at Anko.

"Should I?"

"…Nah."

Danny flew off in search of their other teammates. He found Tenten searching near the hot springs and Hinata near the shopping district. Chuckling to himself, Danny flew Anko back to the exact spot they left their team and waited.

Two hours later, Naruto and his team entered the training ground to find their senseis standing there smirking.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" he shouted, angry that they were found in the exact place they left them. Danny and Anko just smiled.

"You guys pass," Anko said, confusing the three Genin. "Pass? Pass what?" asked Tenten. "The Genin Selection Test," said Danny with a smile. "Only three or four teams are even considered for Genin, so the Jounin-senseis test the graduates they're assigned from the Academy in order to see if they're ready to join the ninja ranks. Those that fail, go back to the Academy for more training. I'm happy to say you all pass." Danny and Anko smiled at their team and gave them a thumbs-up.

"Congratulations, you all pass. Take tomorrow off, then we'll start on training and missions," said Anko. The Genin stared for a minute before cheering and running off.

Danny and Anko stared after them, then Danny started walking away. "Where are you going?" asked Anko. "A _private_ hot spring, little miss pervert," Danny said with a smirk. Anko gave him a sly smile. "Careful, I might just follow you and join you," she teased. "You can if you want, if you can catch me," Danny called before taking off. 'FUCK YEAH!' Anko thought before racing after him.

It took her thirty minutes to track down the halfa. He was on top of the Hokage monument, relaxing in a hot spring he made with Earth, Water, and Fire jutsu.

"Took you long enough," he drawled, opening an eye. Anko pouted, then smirked, shrugging off her coat after Danny closed his eye again. She slipped out of her sandals and armor and pulled her shirt over her head and throwing it on the ground, her shorts and panties following shortly after.

She slipped into the water and leaned against Danny, putting her head on his chest. She didn't know why, but she felt like she could trust him. He made her feel safe and…well, loved.

Instinctively, Danny wrapped an arm around her shoulders, taking care to avoid her rather large breasts, for fear of a kunai finding its way to his testicles.

Anko smiled and nuzzled her head into his neck. He was just so cute when he was scared for his little buddy. Without thinking, she leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek.

Danny's eyes shot open. He turned and looked Anko in the eyes, completely ignoring the fact that they were both naked. After a few seconds of staring, Danny decided 'Ah, fuck it, I'm going for it, consequences be damned!'

He leaned forward and kissed Anko right on the lips.

Anko's eyes widened before she melted into the kiss and responded by deepening it. She felt his tongue against her bottom lip and opened her mouth to begin the battle for dominance, confident she would win.

Danny completely overpowered her. When they finally broke for air, they locked eyes with each other and blushed heavily. Finally, Anko broke the silence.

"Did we just…?"

"I think we did…"

More silence. Then…

"So, Anko, um, I was wondering if…"

"Only if you think you can handle it."

"You bet."

The new couple smiled and kissed once again, completely unaware of the silver-haired Jounin with the camera or the white-haired Sannin with the notebook. The two uninvited guests looked at each other and shared a grin.

"So, Jiraiya-sama, I'm confident that I'll be receiving my copy of _Icha Icha Special Edition: Serpentine Love_ a bit earlier than the rest?"

"If you give me those pictures the instant they're developed, I'll send you a copy of every book free of charge. Imagine how much they must be worth on the black market!"

The two perverts shared a creepy giggle before shunshining away.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Here's Chapter 3!**

 **Disclaimer: see last chapter**

 **Chapter 3**

Danny woke up early the next morning and started his morning workout. He channeled chakra to his limbs to get a bit of a boost, but he had to lift heavier things to build his muscles.

He had just finished bench-pressing his refrigerator when there was a knock on the door. He opened it to find Hinata Hyuuga, who promptly went scarlet. Following her gaze, Danny realized he was shirtless, and his chiseled body was out there for the world to see. Any and all women within sight of Danny's door immediately stopped and stared hungrily, while a few looked at their husbands and boyfriends with a barely noticeable trace of disappointment.

"Uh…hi, Hinata…how can I help you?" Danny said nervously, bringing the girl out of her trance. "Um…I was wondering if you could help me with my wind and water style jutsu," she said softly, not meeting his eyes. Danny made a mental note to work with her on her self-confidence.

"Sure thing. Let me throw on a shirt and I'll be right out," he said, before doing just that, as well as grabbing a few scrolls for wind and water jutsu. He was glad that he'd taken the time to visit the library and copy some scrolls on various elemental and non-elemental techniques.

When Danny was ready, he shunshined them both to Training Ground 5, which had a waterfall flowing into a pond, which then followed a river down to the village's waterwheel, which provided the village with electricity. "Alright, now I want you to read these scrolls, and then practice the hand signs and the chakra manipulation. With your prowess at the Gentle Fist, I can assume you have a significant level of chakra control, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem," Danny said, handing Hinata the scrolls. "I'll be right here to help you out if you need it." Hinata nodded and began reading.

A few hours later, Hinata had mastered _Wind Style: Great Breakthrough_ and _Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu_. Hinata was extremely proud of her progress, jumping up and down like an excited schoolgirl. Danny smiled, then decided to ask her a question.

"Hinata, you like Naruto, don't you?"

Hinata immediately went scarlet. That alone was all the answer he needed. Granted, he already knew about the crush she had on the blond, based off her body language alone, but he wanted to hear her admit it.

"Y-yes, Kagemaru-sensei," she said softly. Danny smiled. "You want him to notice you, right?" he asked, and Hinata nodded. "Then we'll have to work on your self-confidence. If you want him to notice you, you'll have to make the first move. He's too dense to do it himself," Danny said, making Hinata giggle.

They went on to make a schedule: Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, Hinata would work on her wind and water elemental jutsu, and every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, she would follow Danny around the village, where he would introduce her to his friends to help build her self-confidence. Saturdays were mission days, and Sundays were the team meetings and off days.

Soon, the rest of Team Phantom arrived. Tenten went with Anko to learn more about her wind and earth chakra, while Naruto and Hinata went with Danny to practice their own affinities. Danny had Hinata practice the jutsu she had already learned, while he worked with Naruto on his wind affinity, since that was the strongest. After a while, they switched senseis, and Danny taught Tenten some earth style jutsu while Anko helped Naruto and Hinata with their taijutsu. By the time they were done training, which only lasted three hours, the Genin were only semi-conscious due to chakra exhaustion.

"Holy…shit…" gasped Naruto, who was sprawled out on the ground, panting heavily. "Alright, that's enough for today, team. Take the rest of the day off, no sense in overexerting yourselves," said Danny. The Genin nodded as they picked themselves up off the ground and limped in the direction of their homes, except for Naruto. He limped over to the training logs and settled into a shaky taijutsu stance.

Danny immediately grabbed his arm before he could punch the log. "What the hell, Kagemaru-sensei?" said the irritated blond. "Did you not hear what I just said? If you keep training like that, you'll seriously hurt yourself!" said Danny.

"No I won't! Kyuu-chan heals me whenever I get hurt!" said Naruto, making Danny pause. 'Oh, yeah. I forgot about Kyuubi,' he thought, when Naruto's voice brought him back to earth. "Hey, Kagemaru-sensei, Kyuu-chan says she wants to meet you."

Danny blinked twice before what Naruto said registered. "Wait, you can talk with Kyuubi?" he asked. Naruto nodded. "Yup! She's really nice, too! She told me she wanted to meet you!" said the blond happily. Danny thought about it for a minute, then nodded. Naruto spaced out for a minute. 'He must be talking to the fox,' Danny thought. Finally, Naruto walked up to Danny and poked him in the forehead. Danny's world immediately went dark and he woke up in…a sewer?

"Sorry about the appearance. Anyway, the seal is this way," said Naruto, who had appeared beside him. Danny followed as the blond started walking, looking around at the surroundings. Finally, they came to a wide room with a large cage.

" **Ah, Naru-kun! I see you brought a friend!"** came a booming voice from behind the cage. Danny watched in amazement as the gigantic fox came into view, regarding him with its crimson eye.

"Yup! This is my sensei, Kagemaru! Kagemaru-sensei, this is Kyuu-chan!" exclaimed the boy.

" **It's nice to finally meet you, Kagemaru-san. Naru-kun talks about you almost nonstop,"** said the fox with a grin as the blond blushed. Danny chuckled.

"It's nice to meet you as well. It seems what I was told about you was way off the mark," he said. Kyuubi looked at him gratefully.

" **It pleases me to hear that, considering how many people actually share those sentiments. Unfortunately, I can't help much because of this damned seal, otherwise I would help Naru-kun more than I already do,"** she said sadly. Danny perked up at this information. "Wait, I know a seal master who frequents the hot springs here! I could ask him to take a look at the seal," he said, and Kyuubi immediately moved closer to the gate. **"You would do that? Why?"** she asked. Danny smiled warmly. "Because I can't sense any evil intent coming from you. Naruto trusts you, and based on what I've heard, I will too!" he said. Kyuubi was shocked. **"T-thank you…"** she whispered, before Naruto and Danny exited the mindscape. Neither of them noticed the small, joy-filled tear silently falling from the fox's eye.

Upon returning to the real world, Danny immediately grabbed Naruto and shunshined them both to the Hokage's office, where they explained what happened with Kyuubi. Sarutobi was skeptical at first, but Naruto convinced him to speak with the fox before making his decision. The old man agreed, and after fifteen minutes inside Naruto's mindscape, he allowed them to attempt the release, provided he was there in case shit went south. The trio then left to find one perverted Toad Sage.

Unsurprisingly, they found said pervert at the hot springs. After taking an Indestructible Adamantine Staff to the head, the Sannin listened to their testimonies, and had his own conversation with the fox. After a while, he finally agreed.

"BUT, we are not doing this in the village, for obvious reasons," Jiraiya cautioned. Danny, Naruto, and Sarutobi all agreed, then Sarutobi shunshined them to a compound outside the village. "Damn, I never thought I'd see this place again," said Jiraiya. The compound was gigantic, at least the size of a small town.

At Danny and Naruto's confused looks, Sarutobi explained. "This is the Sarutobi family compound. It's where I trained my students, the Sannin. For now, the only people who can access it without my express permission are my son, Asuma, Jiraiya-kun, and my grandson, Konohamaru. It's far enough away from the village, so we won't be discovered. Naruto, are you absolutely sure you want to go through with this?" he asked, turning to the blond, who nodded. Sarutobi then nodded to Jiraiya, who unrolled the scroll on his back. Reaching a particular jutsu, he had Danny and Sarutobi surround the boy, who stood in the middle of all of them. Jiraiya then focused almost 95 percent of his chakra and began weaving hand signs. His brow was lined with sweat, a sign of his intense concentration.

After three minutes of sign-weaving, Jiraiya put his hands on Naruto's stomach.

" _Shiki Fuijin, KAI!"_

A bright light surrounded Naruto and everyone present felt an enormous chakra spike. Sarutobi and Jiraiya were actually forced to their knees due to the immense chakra pressure.

When the light died down, Naruto and Jiraiya lay unconscious on the floor, breathing steadily.

Behind him stood Kyuubi, all nine tails waving in all their glory. She looked around before smiling widely. **"I'm free…I'M FREE!"** she roared. Danny couldn't help but smile.

Naruto suddenly stirred, woken by Kyuubi's excitement. "Wha…?" he said, before looking up at the fox. "KYUU-CHAN!" he screamed, launching into the air and glomping one of Kyuubi's tails, causing the fox to chuckle. Kyuubi then laid down on the floor, and the hyperactive blond climbed up her body to sit just behind her head, where he proceeded to scratch behind her ear. _**THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.**_ Danny watched with amusement as the fox's hind leg started kicking as the blond scratched.

After a few minutes, Naruto ceased his ministrations and slid down one of Kyuubi's tails to land lightly next to Danny. The fox regarded them both before a red scroll poofed into existence. Kyuubi turned to Naruto. **"Kit, this is the Kitsune summoning scroll. Only one person in recorded history has ever signed it. I'd like you to be the second,"** she said, making the blond's eyes widen. "Awesome!" he cried, before following Kyuubi's instructions, slicing his finger with a kunai before signing his name. Kyuubi then taught Naruto the hand signs. Naruto grinned, as did Kyuubi.

The fox then turned to Danny, and another scroll poofed into existence, but this one was different. This one was pure gold, with silver end caps.

" **This is a very special scroll. This is the Bijuu scroll. No one, not even the Rikudo Sennin has signed it. I want you to be the first. If you do, you will be able to summon any Bijuu who signs it as well,"** she explained. Danny paled. "W-why me?" he stammered. Kyuubi chuckled.

" **Because Naru-kun trusts you. I can sense that you will become extremely powerful in a short period of time. That, and you freed me from that thrice-damned seal. In short, I owe you,"** she said, turning away at the last part. If a fox could blush, Danny could swear that Kyuubi was. "A-alright," he said, before opening the scroll. At the bottom of the scroll, he signed his name in blood. Kyuubi then touched the tips of her tails to the scroll, and another name faded into view in the ninth section of the scroll.

 _Kurama._

"Kurama?" asked Danny. Kyuubi became nervous, her front paws fidgeting. "My real name," she said softly, not meeting his gaze.

"I like it. Kurama…it's a nice name," said the halfa with a smile.

The only thing that prevented Kurama from glomping the halfa was the fact that doing so would most likely kill him. That said, tears started falling from her crimson eyes. **"That's…that's the first time anyone's ever said that to me…"** she said, sniffling. She then leaned down and gave Danny a light lick on the cheek. **"Feel free to summon me for anything,"** she said, gratitude shining in her eyes, before she exploded into smoke. At the same time, Danny winced and clutched his head as a flash of pain shot through him.

" **Now, now. You didn't think I would just leave, did you?"**

Danny stiffened, looking around, when he had a thought. He remembered his and Clockwork's mental conversations; maybe this was similar. 'Kurama?' he thought.

" **Ding ding ding! Give the man a prize!"**

'Okaaaay…what are you doing in my head?'

" **When you signed the Bijuu scroll, it made a mental link between us. The other Bijuu will be able to talk to you like this as well, provided you win them over,"** said the fox. Danny just nodded, not entirely sure what happened; he decided to just roll with it.

"Oh, my aching…hey, wait, why am I on the floor?" asked Jiraiya as he regained consciousness. Sarutobi, getting over his shock, smiled down at his student. "The unsealing was a complete success," he said, and a look of pure relief crossed the sage's face. "Now, let us get back to the village before we are missed," said the Hokage, and they left via shunshin.

-Timeskip-

"No, no, no, no, no, no, and for the last time, HELL NO!" shouted an irate blond. Sarutobi, Danny, Anko, Iruka, Tenten, and Hinata collectively facepalmed. Danny felt a tick mark appear on his forehead. "Naruto, do me a favor, will you? It's very important and requires your particular talents," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Naruto immediately whirled around with wide, shining eyes. "What is it?" he asked, vibrating with excitement.

"Shut the hell up."

 _ **WHAM.**_

The force of Naruto's face-fault nearly broke a hole in the floor.

"Naruto, you're still only a genin! You can't do any missions higher than D-rank!" exclaimed Iruka to the downed boy. "You still need experience!"

Immediately, Naruto jumped up, a tick mark very visible on his temple. "And how, pray tell, is cleaning up trash around the village considered experience?! Last time I checked, enemy ninja need a bit more than a tin can to the face to go down!" he shouted, effectively silencing his former teacher. In a brief moment of intelligence, Naruto had single-handedly shut down any available argument Iruka could have made. Naruto sat down with a huff, his back to the Hokage and his former teacher.

"Very well," said Sarutobi after a bit of thinking. Naruto perked up. "Eh?!"

"You brought up a good point: you do lack experience, but experience is best gained in the field. That's why I'm going to grant you permission to undertake a C-grade mission, usually reserved for Chuunin," said the Hokage. "This will be a protection mission. You will guard a certain individual until he reaches his home in Wave Country." Naruto was ecstatic at finally having a chance to leave the village.

" **He looks so happy, that's the first time I've seen him really smile,"** commented Kurama. Danny had to agree; the smile that Naruto usually had was obviously fake. This one was genuine.

"Iruka, please bring in our client," said Sarutobi. With a "Hai, Hokage-sama," Iruka opened a door off to the right and disappeared through it.

He returned a few minutes later with a drunk old man.

"Eh? This is my protection? They're a bunch of useless brats," he said.

In an instant, Danny was in front of him, Seireigan blazing. "I may be assigned to protect you, but you will NOT insult my team like that. We wouldn't want any…"accidents" while on the road, would we?" snarled Danny. The old man was visibly scared; his vision flickered over to Anko, just in time to see a python slither out of her trench coat and wrap itself contentedly around her arm, its head on her shoulder. He visibly shivered, and Anko took notice of this. 'Oho, the man's scared of snakes?' she thought with an evil grin. 'This may be more fun than I thought.'

After Danny backed off and the man regained his composure, he introduced himself as Tazuna, a bridge builder from Wave Country. He requested assistance in the form of materials for the completion of the bridge, as well as protection on his return to Wave. Immediately, Danny felt something was off.

"Tazuna-san, with all due respect, doesn't Wave have all the materials necessary for the bridge?" he asked. Tazuna winced. Danny once more activated his Seireigan as he stalked closer to the old man. "Hokage-sama, I get the feeling that Tazuna-san isn't being entirely truthful," he growled. The Hokage frowned and leaked a tiny portion of his killing intent. "Tazuna-san, I suggest that whatever you are hiding, you make it known, or the consequences will be…unpleasant."

Realizing he was trapped, Tazuna came clean about the state of Wave, Gato, and how the bridge was the country's only hope of survival. The Hokage furrowed his brow.

"That easily brings the rank of this mission to at least B-rank. Why did you lie?" he asked. "A C-rank was all my country could afford," Tazuna said sadly. Sarutobi massaged his temples in annoyance.

"Hokage-sama," said Danny suddenly. "Why don't two teams of Genin go on this mission? That way, if shit hits the fan, there will at least be three Jounin ready to act, but the Genin still get the experience they need." Sarutobi considered this, then called for an ANBU. The purple-haired ANBU that Danny recognized as the one who brought him to the village appeared out of nowhere. "Neko, round up Team Seven. Inform them they are to assist on an A-rank mission to Wave Country," Sarutobi said. "Hai, Hokage-sama!" said the ANBU, and she shunshined away.

Sarutobi turned to Danny. "Team Seven is Kakashi's team. I believe you know him?" he asked. Danny nodded; very few people had the privilege of facing Sharingan Kakashi in one-on-one combat, and those that did usually didn't last very long.

Sarutobi smiled. "The last Uchiha is with him as well. Please don't be offended by his behavior, he has a…ah, how to put this…?"

"A tree up his ass?" supplied Anko, causing Danny to spit out the water he was drinking and convulse with laughter. Even the Hokage snickered a bit. "That's one way of putting it, I suppose," he muttered.

Suddenly, a trio of Genin walked in, followed by their Jounin-sensei. "Yo, Kakashi!" said Danny with a wave. Kakashi's uncovered eye widened, then closed in his famous eye-smile. "Fancy seeing you here, Kagemaru!" he said, clapping the halfa on the shoulder. The Genin looked between them, confused. Well, all but two. Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto were currently having a stare-down.

"Alright everyone, the ones leading this mission will be Kagemaru-kun and Kakashi-kun. I expect everyone to follow their orders to the letter. That means EVERYONE," said the Hokage, with a pointed look at the Uchiha, who huffed. Danny and Kakashi nodded, then turned to their team.

"Alright, everyone go home and pack. We'll meet you by the front gates in an hour," said Kakashi, before he, Danny, and Anko shunshined away.

An hour later, the Genin team, along with the assorted Jounin, finally set off on their mission. While they walked, they made idle chatter, talking about this and that. The Genin passed by a puddle on the side of the path, but the Jounin knew better.

" **That's probably the stupidest genjutsu I've ever seen,"** commented Kurama. **"It hasn't rained for days."** Danny gave a mental nod in reply.

Suddenly, the puddle exploded. The Genin were taken unawares as two ninja with clawed gauntlets charged them…

…and ran right into Danny's and Kakashi's waiting kicks. Both ninja went flying as the two Jounin split apart, revealing Anko, who sent a large python to bind the two ninja together. Danny and Kakashi calmly walked over to their prisoners. "Working for Gato, I assume?" asked Kakashi. One of the ninja just spat at him. "Bad move," said the silver-haired Jounin as he pulled up his hitai-ate, revealing his implanted Sharingan, while Danny activated his Seireigan. Within seconds, both ninja were unconscious, waiting to be picked up by ANBU.

The Genin were stunned at the display of strength. Naruto and Kiba had stars in their eyes, Hinata, Tenten, and Sakura were all mildly impressed, and Sasuke was furious. 'I deserve that power, not them!' he thought angrily.

With the threat behind them, the team continued on their way.

Eventually, they made it to the border of Wave which was a channel that separated Wave from the mainland. The first thing everyone saw was the massive bridge that spanned almost the entire width of the channel, albeit it wasn't quite finished. Naruto and the rest of the Genin marveled at the structure, silently wondering how something so massive could be built.

To Danny, Anko, and Kakashi, something felt off. There was a feeling of malevolence, of bloodlust, that seemed to plague them.

Suddenly, Danny's and Kakashi's keen hearing picked up something flying towards them. "DROP!" screamed Kakashi as he tackled Tazuna out of harms' way. Sakura and Sasuke tackled Kiba as Naruto pulled Tenten and Hinata down with him, and Danny grabbed Anko and shunshined out of the way of the large zanbato that would've bisected all of them. The sword lodged itself in a tree, and a tall, muscular man materialized on top of it. He wore a Kirigakure hitai-ate.

"Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist," said Kakashi plainly. No sense in using petty insults; this guy was in a league of his own, being one of the legendary Seven Mist Swordsmen, as well as having an A-rank in the bingo book. With stats like that, you give respect where it's due.

"Ah, Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan, it truly is my lucky day," growled Zabuza. He crouched down on the handle of his sword. "As much as I'd like to stay and chat, I'm on a pretty tight schedule. So, if you'll just hand over the old man, that would be great."

"Yeah, um…how about no?" said Danny sarcastically. Zabuza narrowed his eyes at the halfa. 'This one…he's different. I don't know how, but I'll need to watch myself around him,' he thought, before straightening. "Pity. Oh, well. It's been a while since my last good fight, so I'll play with you for a bit," he said, before both man and sword disappeared. "Manji formation!" yelled Danny, activating his Seireigan as Kakashi exposed his Sharingan. "Protect Tazuna! Anko, summon some snakes to help them!"

Everyone tensed as malicious laughter could be heard off to the right. They turned and saw Zabuza standing on the water, making an unusual hand sign. "Allow me to demonstrate the finest jutsu in the world… _Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!_ "

A thick mist rolled in out of nowhere, severely limiting everyone's field of vision. Danny edged closer to Kakashi. "Anything you can tell me about this guy?" he asked.

"One of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, master of the Silent Killing technique, and exceptional with Water Style jutsu. Other than that, I got nothing, except be careful of that sword. If it breaks, it reforms itself with the iron in blood," said the Copy Nin. Danny turned slightly green. "Wonderful," he muttered, before an idea struck him. He quickly formed hand seals. "Kakashi, I'm gonna need some help. I'll blow away the mist, while you take him down." Kakashi nodded just as Danny finished the last sign.

" _Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"_

A hurricane-force wind blew the mist away, leaving a wide-eyed Zabuza. Suddenly, Kakashi appeared behind him and sliced his throat with a kunai, only for Zabuza to explode into water. 'A water clone!' thought Danny frantically. Suddenly, he heard Naruto's voice.

" _Summoning Jutsu!"_

There was an explosion of smoke, and a silver fox the size of a horse appeared. **"Naruto-sama, why have you summoned me?"** it asked. "Tsuiseki-kun, I need your help! Can you track Zabuza?" asked the blond, and the fox snorted. **"Of course I can. I am Tsuiseki, the greatest tracker in the Kitsune clan!"** he bragged, before turning his nose to the air. Immediately, Tsuiseki whirled around and lashed out with his tail, just as Zabuza appeared within the Manji formation. He took the tail in the chest and was slammed into a tree. Tsuiseki grinned and crouched down, eager to resume the fight. Zabuza got to his feet and charged the blond. He dodged the fox's strike and drew his sword as he neared the boy who looked on in fear.

The instant Zabuza moved, Kakashi and Danny reacted.

They flipped through hand signs and lightning covered their hands. Danny then disappeared in a burst of speed, reappearing on Zabuza's other side. The Kiri-nin didn't even have time to react as Danny and Kakashi started stabbing him relentlessly.

" _Collaboration: Chidori Barrage!"_ they yelled, driving their two Chidoris into Zabuza's chest. Zabuza's eyes went wide before he exploded into water. 'Damn it, a water style replacement!' cursed Danny. Suddenly, he heard Anko scream. He whirled around to see Anko fall, a huge gash in her shoulder, and Zabuza standing victoriously over her, his bloody sword raised for the finishing blow.

The speed at which Danny transformed was faster than blinking.

In half a heartbeat, he caught the giant sword and used it to launch Zabuza away from his downed girlfriend.

Kneeling down, he took Anko's head into his lap. "Come on, come on! Stay with me!" he cried, tears streaming down his face. As her eyes closed, Danny was assaulted with memories.

 _A test._

 _A meeting._

 _An explosion._

Why did everyone he loved have to die?

 _An operation._

 _A glimpse into the future._

Nobody saw Danny's Seireigan begin to change.

 _A newspaper obituary._

Danny's Seireigan turned into a five-bladed pinwheel pattern.

 _HIM._

And with that, Danny's rage exploded.

White energy surrounded him as he let loose a primal roar.

His canines sharpened into fangs.

His muscles bulged.

His hair turned into white flame.

Turning to Zabuza, he locked eyes with the man who had killed his girlfriend.

" _Zen'nō Seireigan_."

Zabuza found himself trapped in a black void. Suddenly, the one thing he truly feared appeared in front of him. The Shinigami himself.

Danny appeared, his white flaming hair waving in a nonexistent wind. He bared his fangs at the missing-nin. "Zabuza Momochi, the time has come for you to pay for your sins. Your days of killing are over," he growled in a demonic voice.

All Zabuza could do was watch and scream as the Shinigami took the dagger out of his mouth and ran him through.

Back in reality, Zabuza screamed as his soul was ripped from his body and dashed to pieces. His limp body fell to the ground with a thud. Danny stood over his fallen adversary, breathing heavily. Kakashi almost teleported over to Anko, he moved so fast. After doing a brief check-up, he used his minimal knowledge of medical ninjutsu to stop the bleeding and check for a pulse.

"KAGEMARU! SHE'S ALIVE!" he roared. Danny teleported over to them as Anko opened her eyes. "Hey, Kage-kun," she said weakly as Danny's flaming hair slowly returned to normal and his Zen'nō Seireigan deactivated. "Hey, Hebi-hime," he said, tears glistening in the corners of his eyes. "You're gonna be okay." She nodded weakly as Kakashi checked her for any more injuries. Danny looked around and his gaze landed on Zabuza's forgotten sword. He took the holster off of Zabuza's corpse and strapped the blade to his back. At Naruto's inquisitive look, he responded with "Spoils of war." Suddenly, a group of five Kirigakure ANBU dropped out of the trees.

The leader walked over to Danny. "Thank you for dealing with Zabuza; we have been pursuing him for several weeks now," he said with a bow, which Danny returned. The ANBU returned to his companions as they began preparations to dispose of the corpse. The Genin all turned away, sickened by the sight, but Kakashi stopped them. "No, look. You need to see this. If a ninja goes rogue from his or her village, the village sends teams of hunter ninja after them. When the hunter-nin catch up to the rogue ninja, it's their job to eliminate them on the spot and completely destroy the remains. That way, none of the ninja's secrets can be used against the village," he explained. The Genin watched as the hunter-nin used a high-level Fire Style jutsu to incinerate the body to ashes, before turning back to the Leaf ninja.

"Thank you again for disposing of him for us. You made our job easier," he said. "Not a problem, hunter-san," said Danny. The hunter-nin regarded him from behind his mask, then put out his hand. "Haku," he said. "Kagemaru," responded Danny, grasping Haku's hand and shaking it. "If you are ever near Kirigakure, I'm sure our Mizukage would be interested in meeting you," said Haku. Danny just nodded, making no promises. With a final farewell, the hunter-nin departed with Zabuza's ashes, which had been put into an urn.

Immediately after the hunter-nin left, Sasuke stormed over to Danny. "What was that power?" he demanded. It was then Danny realized he was in his ghost form. He quickly transformed back to human, much to the shock of his teammates. "It's my…kekkei genkai," he said. Immediately, Sasuke bristled. "Teach it to me," he said, puffing out his chest.

"Nah, I'll pass."

Sasuke did something he had never, ever done. He face-faulted.

"WHAT?! I demand you teach me!" he screeched. Danny stiffened, then looked back at the Uchiha with his Seireigan blazing. "I am a Jounin, you are a Genin, no matter what clan you come from. Do NOT order me to do anything, or I will make sure that the Uchiha clan has only one remaining member. Care to guess who it will be? Here's a hint: NOT YOU," Danny growled, his Zen'nō Seireigan forming for effect. Sasuke visibly gulped, but said nothing. Danny deactivated his dojutsu and turned back to Anko. "Anko's passed out. We need to get her back to the village ASAP. Kakashi, do you think your team can handle this on their own?" he asked the copy ninja, who pulled his headband over his Sharingan. "Yeah, we got this," he said. "Just make sure Anko gets better soon." Danny grinned and transformed. "I will, don't worry," he said, before gathering Anko in his arms.

"Naruto, summon your fastest fox. We need to get back to the village as quickly as possible. Also, send a messenger fox to the Hokage and tell him to prepare a team of medic-nin. Kakashi managed to stop the bleeding, but the wound can still get infected," he instructed. Naruto nodded and performed the Summoning Jutsu. With a large cloud of smoke, a black fox the size of a rhino appeared, as well as a red, average-sized fox.

Naruto gave his instructions, and both foxes nodded before the smaller one vanished in a poof of smoke. Naruto, Tenten, and Hinata climbed on the fox's back and held on as the fox prepared to run. In a cloud of dust, the Genin and their furry companion were gone. 'I must get that power for myself,' thought a certain Uchiha. What shocked him even more was when Danny and Anko lifted off the ground and flew after them.

Kakashi blinked. 'They're just full of surprises, aren't they?' he thought with a sigh.

-With Danny and the Genin-

"Hey, slow down! We have to wait for Kagemaru-sensei!" yelled Naruto. "That won't be necessary," said a familiar voice to his right. The Genin turned and saw their sensei flying alongside them with a grin. Wait…flying?

Naruto's eyes bugged out of his head, while Hinata and Tenten stared, open-mouthed. "I'll explain later," said Danny. They nodded dumbly and kept riding.

They made it to the Leaf village in record time. The fox stopped just outside the gate, where it wouldn't be spotted, and let the Genin down. After getting scratched behind the ear for his help, the fox poofed away. Danny transformed and immediately made a beeline towards the hospital, where they were greeted by a team of medic-nin that were handpicked by Sarutobi himself. Danny handed them Anko's limp form and they prepared a room for the procedure. For the next two hours, Danny adamantly refused to leave the hospital.

'So, Daniel. It seems you've gotten a few upgrades,' said Clockwork.

'Dear Kami. Where the hell have you been?!' roared Danny.

'Well, when you got rid of that seal, I had to make a new mental connection. It isn't easy getting through this thick skull of yours.'

'Anyway, what was all that back there?' the halfa asked, ignoring the jab.

'That's what you called, apparently, the Zen'nō Seireigan. Think of it as similar to the Mangekyo Sharingan, just with more abilities and no risk of blindness.'

'Sounds interesting. What kind of techniques?'

'Well, there's the one you used, called " _Shinigami no Handan_ ", or the Judgment of the Shinigami. As you witnessed, it has the power to forcibly remove and destroy an evil soul, or to check a person's soul for any taint. For example, you could use it on a certain someone to remove a curse mark.'

'Hmm…sounds like a plan. Anything else?'

'Yes, and I'm glad you asked. This is your genjutsu. It's called "Jigaku no Mon", or the Gates of Hell. It's similar to the Tsukuyomi, but you can create anything, including people, animals, demons, et cetera, and they're all corporeal. Useful for information gathering.'

'Sounds intense.'

'Quite. Also, due to your Seireigan being a combination of the Sharingan and Byakugan, your chakra sensing is improved tenfold and you have all the abilities of the Mangekyo Sharingan. You know, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susano'o. I would advise against using those until you have a proper teacher, as they can harm the user as much as the target.'

'Noted. But what was with that transformation? I looked like…him.'

'Ah, that. I know what you're referring to, and let me tell you right now, it's nothing to worry about. You just achieved your Awakened state. Such a thing will only occur if you are close to death…well, in your case, full death.'

'…so I won't turn into him?'

'Technically, you already did, just without the malevolence. Think of it as Dan's good side, just with all the power.'

'That makes me feel a little better. Thanks, Stopwatch!'

'Don't make me come over there, you know I will.'

'(blows raspberry)'

'Very mature, Daniel. Farewell, my son.'

'Bye…Dad.'

Danny returned to the realm of the living just in time for the nurse to come around the corner. He immediately shot up, a look of worry on his face, only to be relieved by the nurse's comforting smile. "Anko-san's in stable condition, you can see her if you want," she said, and Danny immediately made a beeline for Anko's room.

Anko turned towards the sound of a door opening, and smiled when she saw her boyfriend walk through. His face split into a wide grin when he saw her awake, and he rushed over to her bed, giving her a soft kiss before he pulled up a chair, leaning his sword against the wall. Wait…sword?

"Where the hell did you get that?" she asked, indicating the zanbato. "Took it as a prize," Danny said simply. Anko let the matter drop after that. "Ne, ne, Hebi-hime, I brought you a present!" said Danny excitedly. At Anko's raised eyebrow, Danny took out a storage scroll and channeled chakra into the seal. A plate stacked high with dango appeared in a puff of smoke, and Anko immediately started drooling while making grabbing motions with her hands. "Gimme, gimme, gimme!"

Chuckling, Danny handed her the dumplings and watched as she inhaled one after another. "Feeling better already?" he asked. Anko could only nod, mouth still full of dango. After a large swallow, she turned to him. "Doc says I can go home in a bit, I just have to wait for the all-clear," she said. Danny smiled and nodded. He leaned forward and kissed her, making her drop her dango. Her eyes widened, but they eventually closed as she deepened the kiss. Suddenly…

 _ **BAM.**_

"Kagemaru-sensei, can you train…" Naruto faltered at the scene he had just interrupted. Danny and Anko went bright red.

Soon, a sly grin started to spread across the blond's face. Seeking to nip this potential problem in the bud, Danny quickly activated his Zen'nō Seireigan. "You say one word without our permission, and not even Kami-sama will be able to save you," he growled, while Anko summoned a viper as a warning. Naruto's grin vanished. "Say one word about what?" he asked, scared for his life.

"Good boy."

-Timeskip-

"NANI?!" came a joyous/confused shout from three Genin.

Anko winced at the noise. Danny, however, had dropped to the ground and was rolling around in agony, the shout all but destroying his poor, sensitive eardrums. When he finally regained his composure, he straightened up. "You heard me. I nominated you guys for the Chuunin Exams," he said. Almost immediately, he was glomped by a hyperactive blond. "THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!" he cried as he squeezed his sensei, who felt several vertebrae pop as a warning.

"Naru…to…need…AIR!" he gasped, fighting to remain conscious. Naruto saw his sensei's blue face and immediately released him. Danny took several deep breaths in an attempt to replenish his supply of oxygen.

"Sensei, are you sure we're ready for this?" asked Hinata. Ever since she and Danny worked on her self-confidence issues, she had become a lot more social and less awkward, although she still blushed slightly whenever she was around Naruto.

Danny gave her a thumb's up. "Of course!" he exclaimed. "You guys are arguably the strongest Genin I've ever seen!" His students smiled at the praise. Suddenly, Naruto had one of his moments of pure genius.

"Sensei, you can fly, right?" he asked, and Danny nodded, confused. Naruto gained a thoughtful look. "It looks cool. But I wonder if you can accomplish the same thing using wind chakra? It could give us an edge in the exam."

Danny was stunned, as were the rest of his team. "I can see how that would be plausible, but the control required…not to mention the amount of chakra you would have to use…" He trailed off. He looked up to see Naruto's face screwed up in concentration. Danny immediately realized what Naruto was doing, and tried to stop him. What happened next, he wasn't prepared for.

Naruto was floating six inches off the ground.

Four jaws dropped, before Danny found his voice. "N-Naruto…you're flying…" he whispered. Naruto grinned and focused his chakra in different directions. Soon, he was flying laps around the training field while Hinata, Tenten, and Anko tried to float in place. It turned out to be easier than they thought, but the exercise still left them pretty drained. Naruto touched down next to Hinata just in time to catch her as she fell over, only to faint in his arms. Danny sweatdropped at the sight before handing each of his students a registration form.

"If you want to participate in the Chuunin exams, then fill out this form and take it with you to the Academy in a week," he said. His chest swelled with pride as he watched his students sign the forms. They looked at him to find him smiling. "It was an honor being your sensei," Danny said, surprising them all. Anko nodded next to him. Danny smiled again. "As my final act as your sensei…Ichiraku Ramen, my treat!" he cried, and Naruto immediately jumped for joy. He was just about to fly off when Danny grabbed his wrist. "Don't fly here. Try to keep it under wraps until the Exams start." Naruto nodded and the team set off towards the ramen stand.

After lunch, Danny and his team decided to walk around the village. They had just left a shinobi shop, where the Genin replenished their shuriken and kunai, when a messenger hawk landed on Danny's shoulder. "Sorry guys, we gotta run. Take care, and good luck with the exams!" he said, before he and Anko shunshined to the Hokage's office, where Sarutobi and another man were waiting for them.

The other man was tall and broad-shouldered, with two scars running across his face. He was built like a brick wall, and his very presence screamed "do not fuck with me."

"Ah, Kagemaru-kun, Anko-chan, glad you could make it. This is Ibiki Morino, head of the T&I Department," said the Hokage. "Mind-Breaker Morino, huh? Anko-chan talks about you nonstop," said Danny, shaking the man's hand. Ibiki raised a scarred eyebrow. "Oh, she does?" he asked, looking at Anko, who suddenly gained an interest in the wall, her face bright red.

Sarutobi decided to intervene before they got off topic. "Anyway, as for why I called you three here. I would like you to be proctors for the Chuunin exams," he said. The three Jounin nodded. Suddenly, the door opened and Iruka Umino walked in.

"Ah, there's our fourth proctor. Excellent, now decide amongst yourselves which part of the exam you'll take over. The first part of the exam is a written test designed for information gathering, the second is a survival test in Training Ground 44, and the third part is a combat assessment in the arena. Anko, Kagemaru, you two will be proctoring together," he said, and Danny and Anko smiled at each other. Ibiki mimed being gagged while Iruka smiled.

Ibiki regained his composure first. "I'll take the first portion," he said. "I'd like to mess with their heads a bit." Anko coughed loudly, which sounded oddly like "sadist".

Iruka stepped forward. "I'll take the third part. I want to see firsthand how strong my former students have become," he said. The Hokage nodded. "That leaves Kagemaru and Anko with the second part. You have one week to prepare. Dismissed," he said.

With that, the three Jounin nodded and left.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey y'all! After a long absence, I've finally decided to update all of my stories! I won't bore you with the disclaimer and all that shit, so read the first chapter if you want to see it. Also, I've noticed that I refer to Danny as both Kagemaru and Danny interchangeably. To avoid confusion, I will refer to him as Kagemaru from here on, considering he's pretty much left Danny Fenton in the past. I've also decided that Neji isn't going to be a colossal asshat in this fic.**

 **Without further ado, here's chapter 4!**

 **Chapter 4**

"Do you think they'll be all right? Ibiki's known for messing with people's heads."

Anko and Kagemaru stood on a rooftop, looking through binoculars at the Chuunin hopefuls that were taking Ibiki's mind-numbing exam. Kagemaru looked at his girlfriend with a smile. "Ah, they'll be fine. Don't worry so much," he said, wrapping an arm around Anko's shoulders. "Shut up," she said playfully, leaning into Kagemaru's embrace as they watched the Genin sweat.

 **[With the Genin]**

Naruto subtly glanced around the exam room. The genin showed varying levels of discomfort, from minor annoyance to absolute panic. He found it amusing. He looked down at his paper at the answers he got from his teammates, thanks to his secret, undetectable communication system he had thought up.

 _[Flashback, after Anko and Kagemaru left to speak with Sarutobi]_

 _After their senseis vanished, Naruto immediately turned to his teammates. "Alright, we need to come up with something that will give us some sort of advantage over the competition," he said. Tenten and Hinata nodded. "What do you suggest?" asked the weapons specialist. Naruto grinned evilly. "Just come over to my place around noon. I need to visit someone."_

 _Ten minutes later, Naruto found himself knocking on the Hokage's door._

" _Enter," called the old man's voice. Naruto opened the door to see Sarutobi lounging on a nearby couch while a Kage Bunshin worked on his paperwork. The old man grinned when he saw his surrogate grandson._

" _Ah, Naruto-kun!" he said happily. "What brings you here? Did you finally run Iruka into the ground with your tab at Ichiraku?" he asked playfully. Naruto grinned and shook his head. "I invented a new jutsu, Jiji!" he said gleefully. This piqued Sarutobi's interest. "A new jutsu, you say? Well then, my boy, let's see it!"_

 _Naruto suddenly grinned maliciously. 'Hook, line, and sinker,' he thought as he formed a ram hand seal._

" _Orioke no Jutsu!"_

 _There was a puff of smoke, and a completely naked girl stood where Naruto once was, posing sexily on one leg._

 _There was a small popping noise, before a geyser of blood poured out of Sarutobi's nose and he fell over, unconscious, with a goofy grin on his face._

 _Naruto grinned as he undid the technique and began searching the Hokage's office. Finally, he found what he was looking for: a scroll with the Chuunin Exam information. After copying the information to a separate scroll, he quickly put the original back and left silently._

 _The hidden ANBU looked at each other. "Should we go after him?" asked one. The other one shook his head. "Nah. If he was able to take down Hokage-sama with a jutsu like that, he deserves whatever he took."_

 _[A few minutes later…]_

" _I see…so the first portion is an intelligence gathering test," said Tenten as they looked over the information Naruto had acquired. "Which means we'll probably be split up to prevent cheating, which is actually the point of the first test," finished Hinata. Naruto nodded. "So we need to find a way to communicate without being seen or heard," he said, a thoughtful look on his face. Suddenly, he had an idea._

 _A few minutes later, the trio was outside the hot springs. "Naruto-kun, why did you bring us here?" asked Hinata. Naruto smiled as he scanned the area. "Looking for someone…now where is he…oh, you have got to be kidding me." Tenten and Hinata just looked at each other as Naruto stomped off toward a white-haired old man who was peeking through a hole in the wall on the womens' side._

 _Naruto, upon reaching the man, rapped him sharply on the head. "Ouch!" the man cried, massaging his abused cranium as he glared at his godson. "Ero-sennin," said Naruto as his teammates joined him. "Tenten, Hinata, this is Jiraiya, or as I like to call him, ero-sennin. Ero-sennin, this is Tenten and Hinata. We're taking the Chuunin exams and we need your help," Naruto said, and began to explain what he wanted._

 _Jiraiya just smiled. "Sorry, gaki. Can't help you," he said simply. Naruto glared at him, before realizing they were still outside the womens' bath and grinned evilly. "You have no choice. Either you help us, or I yell 'Pervert'," he threatened._

 _Jiraiya sat up ramrod-straight. "You wouldn't," he said fearfully. Naruto just glared at him. "Try me."_

 _Finally, Jiraiya relented. "Fine, gaki. I'll help you out, but just this once. After this, you're on your own," he said, taking out a brush and a pot of ink._

 _A few minutes later, Naruto and company admired their new communication seals. "These allow us to communicate telepathically across short distances," said Naruto. "Helpful if we get split up for the first part." His teammates smiled and nodded._

 _[Flashback end]_

And helpful they were. Hinata used her Byakugan to read other peoples' answers and relayed them to her teammates. All three of them were finished with the exam in a matter of minutes.

Finally, Ibiki scanned the sea of nervous Genin. "All right, pencils down! Time's up!" he barked. After he had everyone's attention, he smirked evilly and explained the dreaded tenth question.

 **[With Kagemaru and Anko]**

"Ooh, they're sweating even more now," purred Anko as she watched the Genin's panic visibly increase. Kagemaru just laughed.

Finally, they saw that Ibiki was wrapping up. "Well, that's my cue," said Anko, wrapping herself in a black tarp until just her head was uncovered. "Give me a boost?" she asked, giving Kagemaru the puppy-dog eyes. Kagemaru smiled and lifted his girlfriend onto his shoulder. "Ready?"

Anko gave him a chaste kiss. "I am now," she said with a smirk. Kagemaru rolled his eyes as he backed up to the opposite side of the roof, then charged forward and launched Anko through the air like a missile.

She crashed through the glass just in front of Ibiki, effectively scaring the Genin out of their wits. The tarp unraveled to reveal a hand-painted message.

' **INTRODUCING THE PROCTORS FOR THE SECOND EXAM, KONOHA'S POWER COUPLE, KAGEMARU PHANTOM AND ANKO MITARASHI.'**

"Wow, Ibiki, you must be losing your touch," Anko said mockingly, looking out at the veritable sea of Genin. Ibiki just sighed. "Well, maybe we have a good crop this year," he replied stoically.

"Oh, really?" asked Anko, raising an eyebrow. "Don't worry, by the time I'm through with them, that number will be halved." A predatory grin stretched across her face as a python wrapped itself around her shoulders like an enormous, scaly scarf.

"All right, maggots! Meet me at Training Ground Forty-four in five minutes! Anyone who's late gets fed to Nagini* here!" she barked before jumping out the window.

The Genin sat stunned for a few seconds until Ibiki broke the silence. "You should know…Training Ground Forty-four is on the opposite side of the village…and she wasn't kidding about feeding you to the snake."

The room cleared in record time.

 **[Linebreak]**

Kagemaru was leaning against a tree when Anko arrived at the training ground. "Hey," he said as his girlfriend walked towards him and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Where are the gakis?"

Anko looked thoughtful. "Three…two…one…"

With a sound comparable to a herd of rampaging elephants, the Genin stumbled out of the trees, winded from racing across the village at top speed. "Oh, pull yourselves together," snapped Kagemaru. "You guys call yourselves shinobi? Pathetic." This comment brought numerous glares, particularly from an emo Uchiha and a red-haired jinchuuriki.

Anko then began passing out waivers. "What's this?" asked a Genin from the Hidden Rain Village. "It's so if you die in there," Kagemaru explained, jerking a thumb in the direction of the nearby forest, "we can't get blamed for it." This caused a shudder to run through the entire group.

When all the teams had signed a waiver, Kagemaru began to explain the rules.

"Alright, listen up! Each team will be given one of two scrolls, either Heaven or Earth. There's a tower standing in the middle of the training ground. In order to pass this stage, your team must make it to the tower with one of each scroll. You have five days to accomplish this," he said, finding satisfaction in the looks of sheer terror on the Genins' faces.

"But what about food?!" cried a large boy, an Akimichi from the look of him. Kagemaru shrugged. "There's plenty of plants and animals you can eat," he said nonchalantly. "Of course, they might try to eat you as well, so be careful." Yet another shudder ran through the group.

When everything had been explained and the scrolls passed out, Anko told them to pick a gate and wait for her signal. Naruto's team stood in front of their gate, holding a whispered conversation about their strategy.

"I say we head straight for the tower and pick off what teams we can," Tenten suggested. "We can set up traps to catch them. Naruto's probably the best trap-maker in the Land of Fire, so we'll leave those to him. Hinata, you can use your Byakugan to see which teams are getting close, and I can use my ninja tools to shepherd teams into Naruto's traps."

Naruto and Hinata stared at their brunette teammate. "That plan was almost as good as Shikamaru's," Naruto deadpanned. Tenten blushed slightly and giggled.

Suddenly, a horn sounded, and the gates opened. Without a second thought, Naruto and company leapt into the trees and began making their way to the central tower.

 **[With Anko and Kagemaru]**

"I'm never gonna get used to this," said Anko from her perch on Kagemaru's back, as he floated above the forest. Kagemaru smirked and considered doing a barrel roll, but quickly decided against it.

They watched as Naruto, Hinata, and Tenten leapt through the trees, headed for the tower. "Let's not make it too easy for them," said Anko with a sinister smile. Quickly catching on, Kagemaru smirked and landed invisibly behind a tree in his team's path. Anko bit her thumb and ran through hand seals. "Summoning Jutsu!"

 **[With Team Phantom]**

Naruto, Tenten, and Hinata all gaped at the gigantic snake in front of them. Thinking quickly, Naruto grabbed his teammates and flew to a nearby branch, narrowly avoiding the snake as it struck the area they had just vacated.

"Damn, that was too close!" said Tenten worriedly. "We can't go any farther with that thing in our way." Naruto quickly formed hand seals. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" he cried, as hurricane-force winds battered the giant serpent. The snake recoiled with a loud hiss, giving Hinata time to run through her own set of seals. "Wind Style: Blades of Wind!"

The snake used its agility to its advantage as it slipped around the slicing winds, heading straight for the trio. Luckily, Tenten formed hand seals just in time. "Earth Style: Mud Wall!" The snake's head slammed into a wall of earth that erupted in front of the Genin, disorienting it. Seeing an advantage, Naruto and Hinata ran through identical sets of hand seals.

" _Wind Style: Blades of Wind!"_

There was a wet squelching noise, and the snake's formerly attached head fell to the ground with a thud, followed shortly by the rest of its body. Team Phantom grinned at each other before resuming their journey, completely missing the snake explode into smoke, leaving a bisected log in its place.

 **[With Kagemaru and Anko]**

"Time-delay Substitution? Clever," Kagemaru remarked as the snake returned to give Anko a report. Said woman blushed and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly as the snake dispelled. "Well…"

Kagemaru smiled and lifted her into a bridal-style carry, eliciting a surprised yelp from his blushing girlfriend. "Let's get out of here," he said. "I'm hungry." Anko facepalmed but laughed at her boyfriend's antics as they flew above the trees towards their favorite dango stand.

They had just sat down to eat when an ANBU appeared next to their table. "Kagemaru-san, Anko-san, Hokage-sama requests your immediate presence. He said it was rather urgent," he said. Kagemaru and Anko stood and shunshined away, but not before the latter stuffed the dango into her coat pocket for later.

They reappeared in the Hokage's office, where they found the old man sitting at his desk with a grim expression. "Ah, Kagemaru-kun, Anko-chan, I'm glad you made it here so fast. There appears to be a problem," he said. At Anko's raised eyebrow, he decided to elaborate.

"I will not sugarcoat this. Orochimaru has been sighted in Training Ground 44. He has marked the last Uchiha with a Cursed Seal," he said bluntly. Kagemaru suddenly felt his left arm go numb as Anko grabbed it, trembling uncontrollably with a scared expression on her face. He pried his hand from her grip and wrapped her in a tight hug while she slowly calmed down.

"With respect, Hokage-sama, why are we here?" Kagemaru asked as Anko buried her face into his chest. Sarutobi gave them a small smile.

"You're here because you are currently the most skilled Jounin in the village aside from my personal guard. To put it simply, I'm giving you a promotion," he said. "As of this moment, you two are officially ANBU."

This got an amusing reaction from both Jounin. Kagemaru's jaw dropped so far, Sarutobi thought it might disengage, and Anko nearly sank to the floor in a dead faint. Finally, Kagemaru regained the use of his brain. "W-What?!" he cried. The Hokage chuckled a bit, before his face turned deadly serious. "I am making you official ANBU agents. More specifically, my personal guards for the remainder of the exams. I have received word from Jiraiya-kun that Suna and Oto are planning an invasion near the end of the exam, and I aim to foul up their plans," he said, chuckling at the end with a mischievous grin that Kagemaru had seen on only one other person.

"Hokage-sama…that's Naruto's prankster grin. Do I want to know what you're thinking about?" he asked. The Hokage laughed maliciously. "No. No you do not. Anyways, here," he said, pulling out two masks. One was decorated with a scale-like pattern, while the other looked like the Shinigami's face, which he handed to Anko and Kagemaru, respectively. "Welcome to ANBU, Hebi and Yūrei," he said with a chuckle as the couple took their masks reverently.

Sarutobi chuckled. "Now then, here's what we're going to do…"

 **[With Team Phantom]**

Naruto and his teammates arrived at the tower without much trouble. Tenten and Hinata were sitting on the roof while Naruto laid his rather complex traps. Hinata had her Byakugan active and extended its range to maximum, which was roughly five hundred meters thanks to Anko and Kagemaru's training.

Finally, a familiar blond flew up to them using his wind chakra. "Everything's all set," he said with a megawatt grin. Tenten and Hinata grinned in return, before Hinata suddenly stiffened. "I've got a team heading this way from the south. Chakra levels are standard Genin-level," she said. Naruto grinned. "Wait for it…" he whispered.

 **BOOM.**

Unintelligible screams were heard as a massive cloud of pink and yellow smoke rose over the treetops. Naruto had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from laughing. Soon, the victims of his prank stumbled into the clearing where the tower was situated, covered from head to toe in pink and yellow paint. Judging from their hitai-ate's, they hailed from Amegakure, the Village Hidden in the Rain.

Upon leaping into the clearing, they triggered another one of Naruto's traps. A large net shot up from the ground and wrapped itself around the Ame genin, trapping them in midair. Naruto chose this moment to reveal himself.

"Yo!" he said as he appeared in front of the trapped genin. "Which one of you has the scroll?" One of the Ame genin sneered at him. "Like we would tell you!" he shot back. Naruto sighed and shrugged. "Okay then," he said, flipping through the hand signs Kagemaru had taught him. A chirping noise was heard, and his hand was suddenly covered in lightning. _"Raiton: Chidori!"_ he cried, charging forward at the trapped genin, who paled rapidly.

"Wait, wait! He has it! HE HAS IT!" cried one, pointing to one of the others, who shot him a betrayed look. Naruto skidded to a halt with his Chidori just inches away from one's head. "Well then, why didn't you just say so?" he said cheerfully as his jutsu dissipated. The Ame genin scowled, but tossed him their scroll, which turned out to be the one he needed. "Now can you let us down?" asked one of the genin.

"Eh? Oh…well, I guess so. But do you swear not to attack me? I won't go easy on you if you do," he warned. The genin frantically nodded, not wanting to be an easy meal for whatever might be in the forest. Satisfied, Naruto tossed a kunai at the rope that suspended the net, causing the genin to crash to the floor.

Immediately, the three genin ran for it. Before they left the clearing, however, one stopped and made some hand signs. "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he cried, tossing a handful of shuriken at the blond. The shuriken quickly multiplied, and Naruto had to jump clear of the onslaught of metal. "Hey! I showed you guys mercy!" he complained. Suddenly, the Ame genin appeared inches in front of him.

"Then you're a fool," he said simply as he slashed downwards with a kunai.

" _Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!"_

Naruto saw the genin jerk back, but it wasn't enough to keep the knife from slashing across his right eye. He screamed in pain and pressed his palm to the wound, trying his hardest to control the loss of blood.

Meanwhile, Hinata stood over what used to be the Ame genin, his insides turned to jelly thanks to her Gentle Fist. After confirming her kill, Hinata quickly turned back to her crush, whose eye was being bandaged by Tenten. "Naruto-kun, are you all right?" she asked. Naruto grimaced and looked at her with his remaining eye.

"Not really. My eye is gone, and my depth perception is virtually nonexistent. We need to get inside and get medical help," said Naruto, gritting his teeth against the pain. Hinata and Tenten nodded and took a position on either side of their blond teammate, draping his arms over his shoulders and leading him inside.

Once inside the tower, they leaned Naruto against a wall and opened the scrolls, revealing a summoning array. Thinking quickly, both kunoichi dropped the scrolls and jumped away. There was a huge cloud of smoke as the summoning took effect, followed by a familiar-sounding voice.

"Congratulations on completing the second …Naruto! Are you okay?!" The smoke was abruptly cleared to show their old sensei, Iruka Umino, who immediately ran to the injured blond.

"Well, I've certainly been better," Naruto deadpanned as Iruka radioed for medical help. Iruka rolled his eyes and picked Naruto up bodily, slinging the blond over his shoulder as he walked to a nearby room. "You're going to stay here until the medics look at you, got it?" he said with a no-nonsense tone, leveling a heated glare at the boy. Whatever protest Naruto was about to voice died in his mouth as he nodded frantically, wincing as he aggravated his injury. Iruka smirked victoriously before his expression softened. "Tell you what: if you're good for the medics, I'll take you to Ichiraku. How about that?" Naruto's expression brightened and he nodded happily. Iruka returned the smile and ruffled the blond's hair once more before leaving.

 **[Linebreak]**

In the time it took for the medics to arrive, Naruto was visited by Anko, Kagemaru, and the Hokage. Even Hiashi Hyuuga stopped by to praise his daughter on her use of the Gentle Fist. He then turned to Naruto and gave him a small half-smile, before leaning down and whispering in his ear. "If you ever hurt my daughter in any way, there will not be a place in this world you can hide from me. Understand?" he growled, Byakugan ablaze. Naruto gulped. "H-Hai, Hiashi-sama," he stammered. Hiashi nodded once and swept out of the room.

The medics gave their report: Naruto was physically fine, except for his eye. There was no chance the blond would ever see out of it again. Currently, the blond was sitting in his hospital bed with Sarutobi, Kagemaru, Anko, Hinata, and Tenten surrounding him.

"Naruto-kun, I'm sorry. I wish there was something we could do about your eye," said Sarutobi sadly. Naruto just smiled at the old man. "Ah, it's okay. I'll just have to get used to it," he said. Suddenly, Kagemaru had a thought.

"You might not have to," he said. At the quizzical looks from the rest of the group, he elaborated. "Back in my homeland, there was a spirit who had control over just about everything: time, space, matter, you name it. If I can summon him, we might be able to replace your eye."

Everyone looked intrigued. "If you think it will work," said Sarutobi, concerned for his surrogate grandson. Kagemaru nodded. "Just give me a minute or two," he said as he sat cross legged on the floor and closed his eyes, accessing his mental link with Clockwork.

'Ah, Daniel. I was wondering when I'd be hearing from you,' said the Time Master as soon as Kagemaru established a connection. 'I assume you need my help with Naruto's eye?'

'You know everything, so do you even need to ask?' Kagemaru retorted. He heard Clockwork chuckling on the other side of the link. 'Fair enough, I suppose. Whenever you're ready, just fake some hand seals and flare your chakra while opening a portal,' he said. Kagemaru gave a mental nod in return before standing.

He flipped through some random seals before clapping his hands together. _"Seiton: Seishin Sunpō Kōsa!*"_ (Literally, Spirit Release: Spirit Dimension Crossing) A swirling green vortex appeared in the middle of the room, bathing everything in a ghostly green glow. Finally, a familiar (to Kagemaru) figure floated out of the vortex, much to the shock of everyone present. Naruto, however, had the most comical reaction.

"G-g-ghost!" he cried in terror, scooting as far away from the new arrival as possible. Kagemaru chuckled. "Guys, this is Kuronosu, or as I like to call him, Clockwork. He was my mentor when I awakened my Kekkei Genkai after my country was destroyed," he explained, looking down as he remembered those events. Clockwork put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it slightly.

After a minute, the Time Master looked up. "Now then, I believe someone is in need of an eye?" he questioned. Naruto gulped and hid under his sheets, making Clockwork laugh heartily. "Oh, lighten up, child. I'm not going to hurt you," he said. Naruto slowly lowered the sheets but was still trembling.

"Now then," said Clockwork, cracking his knuckles, "let's get started."

Soon, Naruto was awaiting sedation in order to begin the procedure. "Before we begin," said Clockwork, turning to the blonde, "I have the capability of restoring your eye, or I can give you a doujutsu. However, you will not be able to deactivate it, and it will steadily consume chakra when in use. Or, I could check to see if you have any bloodlines of your own. It's your choice." Of course, everyone except Kagemaru was shocked that Clockwork had that kind of power.

Naruto thought for a few minutes before he decided. "I'd like you to check to see if I have any bloodlines, but if I don't, I would like a doujutsu," he said. Clockwork nodded and ran through a set of hand seals, before his hands lit up with the green glow of a diagnostic jutsu. He then held his hands over the boy and ran them up and down. This process lasted a short while, before Clockwork's eyes widened.

"It appears you have two bloodlines," he said, much to the shock of everyone present. "I can unlock them for you, but it will be painful. Do you want me to unlock them?" he asked the blond. Naruto immediately nodded. Clockwork returned the gesture and placed his hand on Naruto's head.

Suddenly, Naruto began thrashing around, screaming in pain. Sarutobi, Anko, and the Genin all prepared to attack, but Kagemaru stopped them. "Relax, it will be over soon. All Naruto has to do is give us a sign of what bloodlines he has," he explained. Everyone nodded and relaxed, albeit reluctantly.

Naruto's screaming hit a crescendo when wooden pillars erupted from the floor, startling everyone present. Before anyone could say anything, Naruto abruptly stopped screaming and lay on the bed, panting heavily.

"Naruto-kun!" cried everyone except Kagemaru and Clockwork. Naruto pressed his hand to his remaining eye, keeping it tightly shut, gritting his teeth all the while. "That…hurt," he groaned. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Naruto-kun, are you sure you're all right?" asked the Hokage. Naruto nodded weakly and slowly opened his eye. There was a sharp intake of breath from everyone present.

"What? What's wrong?" asked the confused blond.

Clockwork floated towards him. "I have unlocked your bloodlines, Naruto. You are now the only natural-born Mokuton and Rinnegan user alive in the Elemental Nations."

 **And that's where I'll end this chapter! Thanks to everyone for your patience! I'll try to update my stories more often!**


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